【文/观察者网 陈思佳】美国总统特朗普上任后大幅削减科研经费，已引起美国科学界的担忧。据美国 彭博社9月2日报道，天文学家警告称，特朗普计划削减美国国家科学基金会（NSF）预算，可能对美国 资助的鲁宾天文台的运行造成负面影响，并使其他一些天文望远镜项目的建设陷入停滞。 美国天文学家指出，中国已建造了世界最大的单口径射电望远镜，正在阿根廷建设射电望远镜，还计划 在智利建设天文台，这表明中国有能力在天文望远镜领域快速追上美国。他们认为，特朗普持续削减美 国科研项目的经费，可能让中国得到赶超的机会。 鲁宾天文台坐落于智利帕穹山伊尔佩恩峰，以已故美国天文学家薇拉·鲁宾的名字命名，由NSF和美国 能源部科学办公室共同资助。报道称，NSF已为鲁宾天文台的建设投入近6亿美元，美国能源部投资约 3.2亿美元，预计天文台投入运行后每年还需要花费8000万美元。 鲁宾天文台目前处于测试阶段，计划10月开始正式运行。在试运行阶段，该天文台已展现出强大的观测 能力。彭博社指出，世界上其他天文望远镜每年在太阳系中发现约20000颗小行星，而鲁宾天文台在6月 为期一周的试运行中就发现了2000多个天体。 鲁宾天文台此前估计，天文台第一年 ...

Core Insights - The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, named after the American astronomer, is set to unveil more cosmic mysteries with its operations beginning by the end of this year [1][2] - The observatory, with a budget of $810 million, will utilize the world's largest digital camera to conduct groundbreaking missions in astronomy [2][3] Group 1: Observatory Features - The observatory features an 8.4-meter diameter telescope that can create panoramic images of the southern sky every three days [3] - It is equipped with the largest "Legacy Survey of Space and Time" (LSST) digital camera, boasting a resolution of 3.2 billion pixels, designed for wide-field, rapid, and deep imaging [3][5] - The LSST camera will generate approximately 20 terabytes of data each night, which is 350 times the daily data output of the James Webb Space Telescope [3] Group 2: Scientific Missions - The observatory aims to map the universe, track dark matter, discover millions of new solar system bodies, and provide early warnings for near-Earth objects [2][6] - It will explore the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, potentially revealing the structure of the universe and the nature of these elusive components [6][8] - The observatory will also enhance understanding of the solar system and the Milky Way by identifying near-Earth asteroids and reconstructing the galaxy's evolutionary history [7][8] Group 3: Data Accessibility and Collaboration - All observational data, including calibration images and real-time alerts, will be made freely available to the global scientific community, promoting collaboration between professional and amateur astronomers [7][8] - The observatory's advanced software processing system will utilize statistical analysis and machine learning to identify anomalies in astronomical data, generating over 8 million alerts each night [5][6]