Vera C. Rubin Observatory in the context of U.S. Department of Energy

NGC 4526 (also listed as NGC 4560) is a lenticular galaxy with an embedded dusty disc, located approximately 55 million light-years from the Solar System in the Virgo constellation and discovered on 13 April 1784 by William Herschel. Herschel observed it again on 28 December 1785, resulting in the galaxy being entered twice into the New General Catalogue.

The galaxy is seen nearly edge-on. The morphological classification is SAB(s)0°, which indicates a lenticular structure with a weak bar across the center and pure spiral arms without a ring. It belongs to the Virgo Cluster and is one of the brightest known lenticular galaxies.In the galaxy's outer halo, globular cluster orbital velocities indicate abnormal poverty of dark matter: only 43±18% of the mass within 5 effective radii.

Time-domain astronomy is the study of how astronomical objects change with time. Said to have begun with Galileo's Letters on Sunspots, the field has now naturally expanded to encompass variable objects beyond the Solar System. Temporal variation may originate from movement of the source, or changes in the object itself. Common targets include novae, supernovae, pulsating stars, flare stars, blazars and active galactic nuclei. Optical time domain surveys include OGLE, HAT-South, PanSTARRS, SkyMapper, ASAS, WASP, CRTS, GOTO, and the LSST at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

Time-domain astronomy studies transient astronomical events ("transients"), which include various types of variable stars, including periodic, quasi-periodic, high proper motion stars, and lifecycle events (supernovae, kilonovae) or other changes in behavior or type. Non-stellar transients include asteroids, planetary transits and comets.

In astronomy, first light is the first practical use of a new instrument, typically a telescope to take an astronomical image after it has been constructed. This is often not the first viewing using the telescope because optical tests have likely been performed to adjust the components.

Cerro Pachón is a mountain in central Chile, located east of the city of La Serena in the Coquimbo Region. The mountain is seismically active, with a magnitude 5.6 earthquake impacting the summit on April 30, 2012. Along with Cerro Tololo, this mountain forms part of the surrounding El Totoral Reserve that is owned by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) Observatory. It is the site of the 8.1 m Gemini South Telescope of the Gemini Observatory, the 4.1 m SOAR optical imager, and the 8.4 m Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

The mountain site has arid, desert conditions with cacti, shrubs, and wildflowers dotting the landscape. It is host to fauna that include Andean condor, viscachas, and the occasional fox, as well as typical desert species such as lizards, snakes, spiders, and scorpions. There is a rock art site thought to associated with the El Molle culture, 300 BC to 800 AD.

Vera Florence Cooper Rubin (/ˈruːbɪn/; July 23, 1928 – December 25, 2016) was an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted and observed angular motion of galaxies by studying galactic rotation curves, the first evidence for galaxy rotation problem, one key piece of evidence for dark matter. Measurements by other astronomers using 21 centimeter hydrogen line radio telescopes clinched the case.

Honored during her lifetime for her work, she received the Bruce Medal, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and the National Medal of Science, among others. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is named in her honor. Her legacy is described by The New York Times as "ushering in a Copernican-scale change" in cosmological theory. Prominent theoretical physicist Lisa Randall and others have argued that Rubin was neglected for the Nobel Prize.