Rubin Observatory Detects 2,104 Previously Unknown Asteroids in First Test Run
By Yuming Chen
La Serena, Chile — The Vera C. Rubin Observatory identified 2,104 previously unknown asteroids during just ten hours of early observations, including seven near‑Earth objects. Scientists confirmed that none of these objects poses a collision risk to Earth.
Funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, the observatory captured its first images on June 23. Its 8.4‑meter Simonyi Survey Telescope pairs with the world’s largest digital camera—a 3.2‑gigapixel device—and records over 1,100 exposures across several nights.
The observatory found approximately 2,015 main‑belt asteroids, nine trans‑Neptunian objects beyond Neptune, and seven new near‑Earth asteroids, amounting to more than 2,100 previously unseen bodies .
Astronomers say this early result demonstrates the observatory’s ability to dramatically exceed current detection rates. Ground‑based and space telescopes typically discover around 20,000 asteroids annually, but Rubin is expected to catalog millions during its upcoming ten‑year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).
The LSST will image the entire visible southern sky every three to four nights, gathering vast, high‑cadence data. It will search for roughly 100,000 near‑Earth asteroids and map over five million total asteroids in the next decade.
Aaron Roodman, LSST Camera program lead, called Rubin a “discovery machine” and highlighted that “we’ll detect millions of changing objects literally every night”.
This matters because early identification of near‑Earth objects improves warning and response for potential threats. Cataloging millions of solar system objects also helps researchers study planetary formation and solar system evolution. Additionally, Rubin’s high-resolution surveys will capture transient events such as supernovae, variable stars, moving asteroids, and may even spot interstellar interlopers or Planet Nine.
Rubin will scan the visible southern sky every few nights, streaming about 20 terabytes of data per night and ultimately building a 60‑petabyte archive—the largest astronomical time‑lapse ever assembled. The observatory is now completing commissioning and plans full scientific operations by late 2025 or early 2026.
