Three-color (J,H,K) image of Jupiter and its satelliteGanymede, captured by IRCS with an adaptive opticssystem. Ganymede moved with respect to Jupiterduring the three filter observations.

Cosmic Scenes Capturedby the Subaru TelescopeAspects of the Solar Systemand the Milky WayObservations by the Subaru Telescope portray the various stages of the lives ofstars like our Sun: from the formation of stars inside clouds of cold gas anddust drifting inside galaxies; through their lifetimes of shining through stablenuclear fusion reactions; on toward old ages when they release their materialsthrough various, sometimes explosive, methods. Chemical analysis of theUniverse reveals that the materials which stars return to interstellar space nearthe ends of their lives become the foundational materials from which the nextgeneration of stars forms.

Diffuse nebula M 17, imaged by Suprime-Cam, forms anumber of stars. The left part of the image appearinglike blue filaments consists of gas ionized by strongultraviolet radiation from those newborn stars.

The long tails of Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) spanning adistance of more than twice the diameter of the fullmoon, were clearly imaged by Hyper Suprime-Cam(HSC) during the early morning of November 5, 2013in the i band (760 nm wavelength).
© HSC Project/NAOJ10

11Spiral Galaxy NGC 6946 captured by Suprime-Cam.
This face-on galaxy enables detailed study of thegalaxy’ s star forming regions which appear pink-ishcolors.

Spiral galaxy M81 captured by Suprime-Cam. Thislarge galaxy, M81, has a strong influence on itsneighbor M82.

Memories of the Universe Interwovenwith GalaxiesOur Milky Way Galaxy is said to contain 200 billion stars. It is thought that thereare over 100 billion galaxies like ours in the Universe. Their shapes and sizesvary dramatically. These differences reflect differences in the history of eachgalaxy. Neighboring galaxies have a mutual effect on one another. In fact, it’snot unusual for galaxies to crash into each other. An important theme of modernastronomy is how galaxies are born and evolve.

Dwarf galaxy NGC 4449 (lower left) grows byswallowing a smaller galaxy (upper right). This visiblelight image was also captured by Suprime-Cam. Blueglare in NGC 4449 indicates active star formation,while the redder color in the outskirts and in the smallgalaxy shows the old red giant stars.
(Composite image produced by R. Jay GaBany.)Umbrella Galaxy NGC 4651. A composite of aSuprime-Cam image and one from BlackbirdObservatory’ s 0.5 m telescope. The interestingstructure came from a tiny galaxy (the dot in the centerof the insert) which was torn apart by NGC 4651.
(Composite image produced by R. Jay GaBany.)12

131980sThe Subaru Telescope’ sHistory and FuturePreparations for the construction of theJapan National Large Telescope (JNLT)1988NAOJ founded, JNLT Project OfficefoundedOpen Use of Telescope Time andGraduate-level Education1991The Subaru Telescope started openuse observations in 2000. Every yearresearch teams throughout Japan andaround the world submit proposalsand the best proposals are grantedobserving time. Graduate studentsplay an active role in these observations and in the development of newinstruments for the Subaru Telescope.

Budget request approved, manufacturingof the telescope began1992Telescope named “The Subaru Telescope,”groundbreaking ceremony on Maunakea

1997Graduate students conduct observations at theSubaru Telescope as part of their course workInternational Collaboration

1999First light2000Open use observations beganInspection of HSC’ s filter exchange system upon itsarrival in HawaiʻiSynergy with TMT141998Telescope mount completed, primarymirror polishing finishedIn addition to observation time exchange plans with other nations’ 8-10meter class telescopes, internationalteams collaborate to develop newinstruments and software for theSubaru Telescope. Major partnersinclude the University of Hawaiʻi andPrinceton University in the UnitedStates, the Academia Sinica’ sInstitute of Astronomy and Astrophysics in Taiwan, and Tohoku University,the University of Tokyo, and KavliIPMU (WPI) in Japan.

The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and internationalpartners are now engaged in the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). TMT will be able tochoose targets for detailed studybased on the surveys made possibleby the wide field-of-view observationsof the Subaru Telescope. Togetherwith TMT, the Subaru Telescope willcontinue to be a world leader in optical-infrared astronomy.

Enclosure completed, NAOJ’ s Hawaiʻibranch established, Hilo Base FacilitycompletedSubaru Telescope2004Public tour program started2006Discovery of the most distant galaxy everdetected up to this point

2009TMTThe Subaru Telescope and artist’ s rendition of TMT onMaunakeaSuccessful direct imaging of an exoplanetaround a Sun-like star2013HSC started observations