VERA Iriki Station 20m Radio Telescope and the Winter Milky Way
Night Scape Photograph・
| Date | 7:14pm December 4th, 2012 (JST) |
|---|---|
| Camera | Nikon D300 |
| Lens | Nikon AF DX Fisheye-Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G ED |
| Exposure | F3.2 ISO400, 30 seconds |
| Location | VERA Iriki Station, Satsumasendai City, Kagoshima Prefecture |
| Photographer | Makoto Shizugami (NAOJ Mizusawa VLBI Observatory) |
| Credit | National Astronomical Observatory of Japan |
This picture shows the VERA 20m Radio Telescope at the VERA Iriki Station in Satsumasendai City, Kagoshima Prefecture and the north-eastern sky during the winter of 2012. Jupiter, the Pleiades (Seven Sisters) star cluster and winter’s faint Milky Way are pictured.
As part of a project to meticulously map the 3-dimensional structure of the Milky Way Galaxy, VERA has established 20m diameter radio telescopes at four locations throughout Japan and now conducts observations day and night. The VERA Iriki Station is one of those four. It is located inside Kagoshima University’s Iriki Farm. NAOJ is cooperating with Kagoshima University; researchers and students from Kagoshima University bear the responsibility for the operation of the VERA Iriki Station. Behind the radio telescope you can see the Kagoshima University 1m optical telescope located on the same site.
(Author: Makoto Shizugami (NAOJ Mizusawa VLBI Observatory))