During its brief perusal of the night sky, Rubin even managed to spy more than 2,000 never-before-seen asteroids, demonstrating that it should be able to spotlight even the sneakiest denizens, and darkest corners, of our own solar system. A small section of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's view of the Virgo Cluster. The view also includes two striking spiral galaxies (lower right), distant galaxies, and many Milky Way stars. NSF-DOE VERA C. RUBIN OBSERVATORYToday’s reveal is a mere amuse-bouche compared with what’s to come: Rubin, funded by the US National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, is set for at least 10 years of planned observations. That’s why Rubin was designed to document anything and everything that shifts or sparkles in the night sky.