Topics September 12, 2025

Announcing the "Pokémon Astronomical Observatory" Special Exhibition to Explore the Mysteries of the Universe and Pokémon

The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan will collaborate with The Pokémon Company to hold the “Pokémon Astronomical Observatory,” a special exhibition where visitors can have fun learning about the mysteries of the Universe, that will be hosted by various science museums in Japan. Through this project we aim to spark children’s interest in space, strengthen the talent pool which studies science, and increase overall support for basic science.

Topics September 10, 2025

Subaru Telescope and the 0.5-meter Solar Optical Telescope aboard “Hinode” have been registered as “Essential Historical Materials for Science and Technology”

The Subaru Telescope and the 0.5-meter Solar Optical Telescope aboard the solar observing satellite "Hinode" operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan have been registered as "Essential Historical Materials for Science and Technology" by the National Museum of Nature and Science in 2025.

Science August 5, 2025

Baby Star Sets off Explosion, Gets Caught in Blast

Astronomers have observed an explosion in space that is pushing back against and influencing the baby star which triggered the explosion in the first place. If explosions like this one are common around young stars, then the young stars and their planets are exposed to a harsher environment than previously thought.

Science July 15, 2025

Subaru Telescope Discovers “Fossil” in Outer Solar System

Subaru Telescope has made an exciting discovery: a small body beyond Pluto, with implications for the formation, evolution, and current structure of the outer Solar System.

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Science July 1, 2025

Earth Weather Satellites Track Venusian Weather

Scientists looking at images of Earth taken by weather satellites found that Venus shows up in the background of some of the images. By collecting and analyzing these serendipitous observations of Venus, scientists were able to track temperature variations in Venus’s atmosphere over nearly 10 years.

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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.

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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.