Science April 26, 2022

Classifying Exoplanet Atmospheres Opens New Field of Study

An international team of researchers examined data for 25 exoplanets and found some links among the properties of the atmospheres, including the thermal profiles and chemical abundances in them.

Topics April 18, 2022

You are an Astronomer! —GALAXY CRUISE Season 2 Has Launched

Season 2 of GALAXY CRUISE, in which citizens and scientists work together to uncover the mysteries of galaxies, has just launched with new galaxies and a new classification screen.

Science April 14, 2022

Missing-Link Black Hole Found Lurking in Plain Sight

An international research team has discovered a supermassive black hole in the early Universe that could provide the missing link in the evolution of quasars, some of the brightest objects in space. This result is important for understanding the evolution of supermassive black holes, like the one hiding at the center of our own Milky Way Galaxy.

Science April 7, 2022

Most Distant Galaxy Candidate Yet

An international astronomer team has discovered the most distant galaxy candidate to date, named HD1, which is about 13.5 billion light-years away. This galaxy candidate is one of the targets of the James Webb Space Telescope launched late last year. If observations with the James Webb Space Telescope confirm its exact distance, HD1 will be the most distant galaxy ever recorded.

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Science April 5, 2022

Prenatal Protoplanet Upends Planet Formation Models

An international research team has discovered a new planet so young that it has yet to emerge from the womb of matter where it is forming. This is the youngest protoplanet discovered to date. It’s location and the surrounding patterns of matter suggest that an alternative method of planet formation may be at work. This discovery could help to explain the histories and features of extrasolar planets seen around other stars.

Topics March 15, 2022

Subaru Telescope Scientist Wins 2021 ASJ Young Astronomer Award

Dr. Kenneth Wong, a Project Research Fellow at the Subaru Telescope, has been selected to receive the 2021 ASJ Young Astronomer Award.

Science February 25, 2022

Deep Neural Network to Find Hidden Turbulent Motion on the Sun

Scientists developed a neural network deep learning technique to extract hidden turbulent motion information from observations of the Sun. Tests on three different sets of simulation data showed that it is possible to infer the horizontal motion from data for the temperature and vertical motion. This technique will benefit solar astronomy and other fields such as plasma physics, fusion science, and fluid dynamics.

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Topics February 10, 2022

Tonga Eruption Observed by KAGRA Environmental Monitors

On January 15, 2022, at 04:14:45 (UTC), the undersea volcano of Hunga Tonga-Funga Ha'apai erupted and caused extensive damage there, which has attracted worldwide attention. The effects of this eruption were reported in Japan as well, e.g. tsunami waves capsizing ships, and were observed by the environmental monitors of KAGRA.

Topics January 5, 2022

A new-year’s message from the Director General, NAOJ

A new-year’s message from the Director General of NAOJ, Dr. Saku Tsuneta

Science December 23, 2021

Billions of Starless Planets Haunt Dark Cloud Cradles

An international team has found about 100 planets floating freely in space rather than orbiting stars. Extrapolating this sample to the rest of the Milky Way Galaxy suggests that there are billions of undiscovered starless planets tumbling aimlessly through space.

This article is including a link to a article for kids.