The Rubin Observatory's upcoming images may stack up to space telescope ones. Here's how

A new algorithm capable of transforming ground-based telescope images by removing the blurring effect of the atmosphere to produce as perfect an image as possible has successfully completed tests on the eight-meter Subaru Telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea. The next step is to apply it to images from the Vera C Rubin Observatory when it begins science operations later this year.

The revolutionary algorithm was developed by Johns Hopkins mathematician Yashil Sukurdeep.

"We dubbed our algorithm 'Image MM' because, at its core, it relies on the Majorization–Minimization, or MM, method — an elegant mathematical technique that we've adapted in a new way for exploring the cosmos," Sukurdeep said in a statement.

Ground-based telescopes have always been at a disadvantage compared to space-based ob