{
  "abstract": "We present the discovery of the Milky Way satellite Rubin-GC1 (Rubin J1628−1735) using data from the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Early Data Preview 2. The system was discovered in the direction of the Galactic bulge with ( l , b ) ∼ (359°, 21°) in a region of high stellar density and a foreground reddening of E ( B − V ) ≈ 0.7. We simultaneously fit the morphology and isochrone parameters of Rubin-GC1, determining that it is a faint ( M V = − 2 . 4 − 0.7 + 0.5 ) and compact ( r 1 / 2 = 5 − 1 + 1 pc) Milky Way satellite at a distance of D ⊙ = 3 1 − 3 + 3 kpc; its stellar population is intermediate-age ( τ = 9 . 2 − 0.7 + 1.2 Gyr) and moderately metal-rich ( [ Fe / H ] iso = − 0.7 3 − 0.04 + 0.04 ). Together, these properties suggest Rubin-GC1 is most likely a star cluster in the faint tail of the luminosity function of globular clusters surrounding the Milky Way. We identify a distinct proper motion signature from Rubin-GC1 in Gaia DR3, and from a comparison of the system’s 5D phase space information to N -body models of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy’s tidal stream, we determine that Rubin-GC1 is likely an accreted cluster associated with the Sagittarius leading arm. The discovery of Rubin-GC1 highlights the potential of Rubin to uncover faint, resolved satellites in dust-shrouded regions of the Milky Way, including remnants of the accretion events that have shaped the Galaxy’s hierarchical assembly.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "University of Chicago",
    "NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI)",
    "Université Grenoble Alpes",
    "Yale University",
    "University of Virginia",
    "Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory",
    "University of Washington",
    "Dartmouth College",
    "Lund University",
    "University of Colorado Boulder"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 12,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Aashay Pai",
      "orcid": "0009-0008-9641-6065"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "William Cerny",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1697-7062"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Andrew B. Pace",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6021-8760"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Alex Drlica-Wagner",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8251-933X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Peter S. Ferguson",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6957-1627"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Marla Geha",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7007-9725"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Chin Yi Tan",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0478-0473"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Sasha N. Campana",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-9488-7050"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9649-4815"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Alexander H. Riley",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5805-5766"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Nora Shipp",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2497-091X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Guy S. Stringfellow",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1479-3059"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cncq6xa72931q.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3847/2041-8213/aeb122",
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  "issns": [
    "2041-8213",
    "2041-8205"
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  "landing_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aeb122",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
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      "feed-journal",
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  "pdf_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aeb122/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "American Astronomical Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cncq6xa72931q.ris",
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies",
      "subfield": "stellar"
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  ],
  "title": "Rubin Observatory Reveals a Dust-shrouded Halo Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus",
  "title_text": "Rubin Observatory Reveals a Dust-shrouded Halo Globular Cluster in Ophiuchus",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-05T12:20:12Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cncq6xa72931q",
  "venue": "The Astrophysical Journal Letters",
  "versions": []
}