Science June 24, 2025

New Insights into Planet Formation from Public Data with New Imaging Technique

Signs of planet formation may appear earlier than expected around still-forming baby stars, according to new results of higher resolution images produced using new improved techniques to reanalyze radio astronomy archive data. These newly discovered signs of planet formation will provide a better understanding of when it begins around a young star, thereby elucidating the process that leads to planet formation, including habitable planets like Earth.

Topics June 24, 2025

NAOJ Researchers Contribute to Launch of Vera C. Rubin Observatory

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory released its first images taken with the world’s largest digital camera on June 23, 2025 (local time). This marks the beginning of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), a large-scale imaging project.

Science June 3, 2025

Cosmic Himalayas Quasar Cluster Defies Explanation

A newly discovered cluster of eleven quasars has shattered the previous record of five. Rather than being associated with a dense group of galaxies, these quasars sit on the boundary between two groups of galaxies. This structure, dubbed the “Cosmic Himalayas,” cannot be explained by conventional theories, forcing astronomers to rethink the formation scenarios for quasars.

Science May 22, 2025

ALMA Measures Evolution of Monster Barred Spiral Galaxy

Astronomers have observed a massive and extremely active barred spiral galaxy in the early Universe and found that it has important similarities and differences with modern galaxies. This improves our understanding of how barred spiral galaxies, like our own Milky Way Galaxy, grow and evolve.

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Topics April 15, 2025

NAOJ Researchers Receive the 2025 Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

From NAOJ, Assistant Professor Akimasa Kataoka and Associate Professor Yuka Fujii of the Division of Science and Assistant Professor Shota Kikuchi of the RISE Project received the Young Scientists’ Award; while Associate Professor Hidehiko Agata and Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) Masaaki Hiramatsu of the Public Relations Center received the Award for Science and Technology (Public Understanding Promotion Category) as the main members of the Diagram of Our Universe production.

Topics March 17, 2025

200 MHz Solar Radio Telescope and Main Building of Temporary International Latitude Observatory Recognized as Japan Astronomical Heritage

Two NAOJ facilities have been recognized in the 7th (FY 2024) “Japan Astronomical Heritage” list. They are the “Mitaka 200 MHz Solar Radio Telescope” at the Nobeyama Radio Observatory and the “Temporary International Latitude Observatory Main Building (Kimura Hisashi Memorial Museum)” at Mizusawa VLBI Observatory.

Topics March 17, 2025

Awards of the Astronomical Society of Japan related to NAOJ

At the 2025 Spring Annual Meeting of the Astronomical Society of Japan, the awards for FY 2024 under the society's award system have been announced. Among them, the following awards are related to NAOJ.

Topics February 25, 2025

Subaru Telescope Observes Near Earth Asteroid 2024 YR₄

On February 20, 2025 (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time, HAST, the Subaru Telescope captured images of asteroid 2024 YR₄, which will pass close to the Earth in 2032. The positional data obtained from these observations was used to refine the asteroid’s orbit, and assure us that the asteroid will not actually hit the Earth.

Science February 6, 2025

Dusting for Stars’ Magnetic Fingerprints

For the first time astronomers have succeeded in observing the magnetic field around a young star where planets are thought to be forming. The team was able to use dust to measure the three-dimensional structure “fingerprint” of the magnetic field. This will help improve our understanding of planet formation.

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Topics January 16, 2025

First Solar Images from Sunrise-Ⅲ

The first images have been published from the Sunrise-Ⅲ balloon-borne solar telescope’s successful 6.5-day stratospheric flight in July 2024.