European Antennas at ALMA's Operations Support Facility

The (NAOJ) is an

astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies ...

research organisation comprising several facilities in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, as well as an observatory in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. It was established in 1988 as an amalgamation of three existing research organizations - the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory of the

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

, International Latitude Observatory of Mizusawa, and a part of

Research Institute of Atmospherics Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

Nagoya University , abbreviated to or NU, is a Japanese national research university located in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya. It was the seventh Imperial University in Japan, one of the first five Designated National University and selected as a Top Type university of T ...

. In the 2004 reform of national research organizations, NAOJ became a division of the

National Institutes of Natural Sciences The (NINS) is an inter-university research institute corporation consisting of five member institutes: the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Astronomical Observatory (NAOJ), the National Institute for fusion Science, Japan, Nat ...

Facilities

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan Entrance

$NAOJ-mitaka-65cm-refractor-dome$ Shisa on the gate of the telescope Station in Ishigaki Japan

;Mitaka Campus (

Mitaka, Tokyo 260px, Inokashira Park in Mitaka is a city in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 190,403, and a population density of 12,000 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Mit ...

. ) :The Headquarters, Astronomy Data Center, Advanced Technology Center, Public Relations Center :Solar Flare Telescope, Sunspot Telescope,

TAMA 300 TAMA 300 is a gravitational wave detector located at the Mitaka campus of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. It is a project of the gravitational wave studies group at the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR) of the University ...

gravitational wave detector A gravitational-wave detector (used in a gravitational-wave observatory) is any device designed to measure tiny distortions of spacetime called gravitational waves. Since the 1960s, various kinds of gravitational-wave detectors have been built ...

Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle The Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle (PMC) is a meridian circle that observes and records the positions of stars and planets, which are then reported in the PMC catalogs. Meridian circle The Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle is a fully auto ...

:Historical instruments: Solar Tower Telescope, 65cm refractor dome, 20cm refractor dome ;Nobeyama Radio Observatory (

Minamimaki, Nagano is a village located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 2924 in 1091 households, and a population density of 22 persons per km². The total area of the village is . Geography Minamimaki is located in mou ...

, ) :45m Millimeter Radio Telescope, Nobeyama Radio Polarimeter :Decommissioned instruments: Nobeyama Millimeter Array, Nobeyama Radio Heliograph ;Mizusawa VLBI Observatory (

Ōshū, Iwate is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 114,620 and a population density of 120 persons per km² in 45,728 households. The total area of the city is . Ōshū is famous for its Maesawa Beef, numero ...

. ) :VERA Mizusawa Station (20m radio telescope), 10m VLBI radio telescope :Historical building: Dr. Kimura Museum ;VERA Ogasawara Station ( Ogasawara. ) :20m radio telescope ;VERA Iriki Station ( Iriki. ) :20m radio telescope ;VERA Ishigakijima Station ( Ishigakijima. ) :20m radio telescope ;

KAGRA The Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector (KAGRA), is a large interferometer designed to detect gravitational waves predicted by the general theory of relativity. KAGRA is a Michelson interferometer that is isolated from external disturbances: its m ...

( Hida,

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

. ) :KAGRA gravitational wave telescope ;Ishigakijima Observatory ( Ishigakijima) :Murikabushi telescope ;Hawaii Observatory (

) :

Subaru ( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...

8m telescope (

Mauna Kea Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak is ...

). ) :Hilo Base Facility (

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement i ...

. ) ;Chile Observatory (

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the ...

) :

Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is an astronomical interferometer of 66 radio telescopes in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, which observe electromagnetic radiation at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The ar ...

Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment The Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment (ASTE) is a 10-meter-diameter antenna built by Mitsubishi Electric as a preprototype for ALMA. The ASTE was deployed to its site on Pampa La Bola, near Cerro Chajnantor and the Llano de Chajnantor O ...

(ASTE) ;Decommissioned Facilities :Norikura Solar Observatory (Mount Norikura,

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

, ) :: Formerly under NAOJ and decommissioned in 2010. Building reused for research purposes, including non-astronomical work for the

National Institute of Natural Sciences The (NINS) is an inter-university research institute corporation consisting of five member institutes: the National Astronomical Observatory (NAOJ), the National Institute for fusion Science (NIFS), the National Institute for Basic Biology (NI ...

. :Okayama Astrophysical Observatory (Mount Chikurinji in Asakuchi,

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

. ) :: Facility still belongs to NAOJ, but its 188cm telescope is now operated by the

Tokyo Institute of Technology is a national research university located in Greater Tokyo Area, Japan. Tokyo Tech is the largest institution for higher education in Japan dedicated to science and technology, one of first five Designated National University and selected as ...

. :: Decommissioned telescopes: 91cm telescope, 65cm Coude-Type solar telescope

NINS

In 2004, NAOJ, in alliance with four other national institutes – the

National Institute for Basic Biology The (NIBB) is a research institute and post graduate university in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was founded in 1977 to promote biological research in Japan in cooperation with public and private universities, and research institute ...

, the

National Institute for Fusion Science National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, and the

Institute for Molecular Science An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

– established the

(NINS) to promote collaboration among researchers of the five constituent institutes.NINS outline
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Projects with NAOJ involvement

ALMA Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...

, ASTE *

SELENE In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (; grc-gre, Σελήνη , meaning "Moon"''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη) is the goddess and the personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene, she is traditionally the daughter o ...

* VSOP, VSOP-2 * Hinode (Solar-B) *

SPICA (satellite) The Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA), was a proposed infrared space telescope, follow-on to the successful Akari space observatory. It was a collaboration between European and Japanese scientists, which was select ...

JASMINE Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...

* Hubble Origins Probe

References

External links

Mitaka Campus
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Astronomical Observatory Of Japan Astronomy institutes and departments Astronomical observatories in Japan Astronomical observatories in Hawaii Buildings and structures in Hawaii County, Hawaii Scientific organizations established in 1988

Facilities

NINS

Projects with NAOJ involvement

See also

References

External links