Vera C. Rubin Observatory releases first deep image of COSMOS field

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has released its first science image and catalog for the COSMOS field, marking the Early Data Preview 2 (EDP2) phase. The image is a composite of hundreds of exposures captured by the 3.2-gigapixel LSST camera, located in the Chilean Andes, using observations taken between April 2025 and January 2026.

The resulting data reveals more than 500,000 galaxies and 50,000 stars. The COSMOS field, situated in the constellation Sextans, was selected for this milestone because it is located away from the dusty plane of the Milky Way, providing a clear view into the deep universe. This region has been a subject of study for decades by major instruments such as the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes.

The technical operation of the LSST camera involves 189 science CCD sensors chilled to approximately -100°C to minimize thermal noise. While the release is not part of the full Legacy Survey of Space and Time, it provides a validated dataset that researchers in the United States and Chile can already query for scientific study.