Peter Yoachim

The Vera Rubin Telescope will discover thousands of interstellar visitors. To tell a natural object from a relic of another civilization, scientists have developed a protocol: they’ll study the light 'fingerprints' of these guests.

The Vera C. Rubin telescope has released test images of a tiny patch of sky, packed with millions of galaxies and 93 new asteroids. These data will help fine-tune the equipment ahead of a full survey set to begin in 2026, turning the static sky into a movie.