NOIRLab Stories

Our Precious Dark Skies

How NSF NOIRLab works to preserve Earth’s best astronomy sites

Josie Fenske
8 May 2026
EPO@NOIRLab

A Decade Among Mountains and Stars

NSF NOIRLab Civil Engineer Supervisor, Fabrizzio Bruno, reflects on ten years of supporting astronomy in Chile

Fabrizzio Bruno
8 April 2026
Logs From the Lab

Observatory Oasis

An inside look at how Kitt Peak National Observatory’s self-sufficient water system captures, cleans, and stores rain to support science

Jason Davis
19 Jan. 2026
From the Ground Up

25 Years of Gemini Part II: What Makes Gemini Observatory International Today?

The International Gemini Observatory is a partnership of six countries, including the United States, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Korea

Nicole Kuchta
26 Nov. 2025
From the Ground Up

25 Years of Gemini Part I: The Origin of the International Gemini Observatory

How a bold international collaboration launched an ambitious project to create the next generation of world-class 8-meter telescopes

Nicole Kuchta
19 Nov. 2025
From the Ground Up

DESI and the History of the Universe

How the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument makes astrophysicists cartographers of the cosmos

Tod Lauer
17 Oct. 2025
Logs From the Lab

Remote Eyes on the Sky: Inside SLAC’s Rubin Control Room

With survey operations set to begin this fall, the Rubin control room at SLAC will serve as a key hub for training and remote observing support for NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

18 Sept. 2025
From the Ground Up

Vera C. Rubin and Her Work at Kitt Peak

A reflection on the famed American astronomer’s legacy, built in-part using the telescopes at the U.S. National Science Foundation Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, a Program of NSF NOIRLab

James Lockridge
8 Sept. 2025
Logs From the Lab

Leaving the Stars of Home

By Tod Lauer, astronomer at NSF NOIRLab, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation

Tod Lauer
15 Aug. 2025
Logs From the Lab

Lights, Camera, Cosmos: The Cast and Crew Behind Rubin Observatory

NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, will soon begin its quest to capture the cosmos, marking the culmination of decades of work by thousands of people

Jason Davis
12 June 2025
On the Horizon

Dialing Gravitational Lensing Research up to 11

NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, will add an unprecedented amount of cosmological data to the study of the structure and expansion of the Universe.

5 June 2025
On the Horizon

GHOST Spies Ultra-hot Jupiter With Ultra-fast Winds

Study of HAT-P-70 b’s atmosphere highlights the spectacular spectroscopic abilities of Gemini South’s GHOST

Nicole Kuchta
27 May 2025
Science Snippets

Ready, Set, Process: Preparing for Rubin Observatory's Data Deluge

A look inside the data processing infrastructure built by the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory to handle the Universe’s greatest data challenge.

15 May 2025
On the Horizon

Sharpening our cosmic focus

NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is gearing up to illuminate the Universe’s darkest secrets with groundbreaking new technology

23 April 2025
On the Horizon

Preparing for the greatest cosmic movie ever made

Now that NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s LSST Camera has been installed, what’s next?

11 April 2025
On the Horizon

Two Cosmological Surveys Strengthen Hints That Standard Model of Cosmology Is Wrong

Both the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument and Dark Energy Survey find hints of time-varying dark energy

Josie Fenske
19 March 2025
Science Snippets

IGRINS on Gemini South Detects Surprising Signatures in Dynamic Atmosphere of Exoplanet WASP-121b

Chemical clues revealed in atmosphere of ultra-hot Jupiter challenge astronomers’ understanding of how ‘roasting marshmallows’ form

Trisha Muro
30 Jan. 2025
Science Snippets

A Sketch Says a Thousand Words

Celebrating Principal Mechanical Engineer Gabriel Pérez’s 50 Years of Service at NSF NOIRLab

Jason Davis
18 Dec. 2024
NOIRLab Nation

NSF NOIRLab Astronomers and the Vista Variables in the Vía Láctea Survey

How the VVV/VVVX survey impacted five scientists’ careers and inspired a worldwide collaboration in science

James Ball
4 Dec. 2024
NOIRLab Science

Crafting a Legacy in the NOIRLab Instrument Shop

How one machinist discovered his skills and passion for instrument-making

Josie Fenske
27 Sept. 2024
From the Ground Up
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