The 65-cm Equatorial Refractor Telescope housed in the Observatory History Museum (65-cm Telescope Dome) at the Mitaka Campus was made by Zeiss of Germany and built in 1929. This refractor Telescope has one of the largest diameter of any refractor telescope in Japan and is the same size at the 65-cm telescope (built in 1972) at Kyoto University’s Hida Observatory. The focal length of this particular telescope extends 10 meters. The Observatory History Museum, which was once used as the observation room, has been also registered a tangible cultural property of Japan.

This telescope and the Observatory History Museum are located in the visitor viewing area of the Mitaka Campus and are always open to the general public (excluding the year-end and New Year’s holidays). Although it was retired from research observatory activities in March 1998, this telescope has stood as a commemorative monument to Japan’s astronomical observations since April 2001 and today it remains preserved and exhibited proudly as an important piece of Japan’s astronomical history. Please visit the Open Public Facilities page for more details.

(Author: Tomoko Ono)