Shining light on scientific superstar
Science & Tech Shining light on scientific superstar The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a new astronomy and astrophysics facility in Cerro Pachón, Chile.Courtesy of Vera C. Rubin Observatory Kermit Pattison Harvard Staff Writer June 20, 2025 5 min read Vera Rubin, whose dark-matter discoveries changed astronomy and physics, gets her due with namesake observatory, commemorative quarter Nearly 80 years ago, a promising astronomy student named Vera Rubin passed up the opportunity for graduate study at Harvard. Now, a decade after her death, the pioneering astronomer will be celebrated on campus as a scientific superstar. Rubin, whose discoveries about dark matter transformed astronomy and physics, will be honored with a weeklong series of events starting June 23, including the first public release of images from a new observatory bearing her name and the unveiling of a commemorative quarter. “Intellectually, we’re all still staggering around with the consequences of the astronomy that she did,” said Christopher W. Stubbs, the Samuel C. Moncher...