Las Cumbres Observatory, a unique global network of robotic telescopes, is pleased to announce that it has received a grant of $3,800,000 from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. These funds will purchase new cameras for the 1-m telescopes in the network, providing a significant enhancement in efficiency and image quality.
The Las Cumbres Observatory was designed from the start as a rapid follow-up facility for the NSF funded Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). The survey will begin streaming data in 2026. LSST will create an ever-changing movie of the Southern sky, discovering hundreds of thousands of new transients per night. To realize the transformational science that Rubin promises, rapid and regular follow-up observations are critical. LCO’s unique global telescope network provides this. The combination of longitudinal and latitudinal 24/7 sky coverage; robotically controlled telescopes with no direct human supervision; homogenous instrumentation across 12 telescopes; fully automated scheduling, execution, and data processing for all observations, makes LCO’s 12 1-meter class telescopes the workhorse network for optical time domain follow-up targets. In addition to Rubin LSST, current and next generation large scale time-domain and multi-messenger surveys are ushering in a new age of discovery in time domain astrophysics.
Las Cumbres Observatory was founded by technologist Wayne Rosing and has been operating its global network since 2014. “We have built the integrated telescope network that will guide the future of time domain astronomy,” said Rosing. “Our observatory is a machine for the discovery of new astronomical events and the physics of the cosmos. This grant from the Moore Foundation will increase our capacity to better serve all of our science partners.”
Dr. Lisa Storrie-Lombardi, President and Director of Las Cumbres Observatory, is thankful to the Moore Foundation for funding to support vital enhancements in imaging. "The new cameras provide enhanced sensitivity and a faster cadence for taking observations. It provides the equivalent of adding four telescopes of capacity,” Dr. Storrie-Lombardi said. "We are grateful to the Moore Foundation for their confidence in our work and our future.”
About the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation advances scientific discovery, environmental conservation, and the special character of the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit moore.org and follow @MooreFound.
