Science September 16, 2021

Untangling the Formation of Planetary Systems with Deuterium

An international research team using ALMA revealed the distribution of heavy hydrogen, or deuterium, in planet formation sites with the highest resolution ever achieved. This provides clues to understand the physical and chemical conditions during the formation of exoplanets and Solar System objects.

Science September 10, 2021

Largest Virtual Universe Free for Anyone to Explore

An international team of researchers developed the largest and most detailed simulation of the Universe to date and has made it freely available on the cloud to everyone. This simulation, named Uchuu, will help astronomers to interpret results from Big Data galaxy surveys.

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Topics September 8, 2021

First Light with the ALMA Band 1 Receiver

An international team has developed, assembled, and integrated a new set of receivers for the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Band 1 receivers, which have now been installed for the first time in ALMA antennas and successfully achieved the first light.

Topics August 24, 2021

NAOJ and ASIAA Sign MOU for Scientific Collaboration on the Subaru Telescope

On August 19th, 2021, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan of the National Institutes of Natural Sciences and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics of Taiwan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the joint development of new instruments for the Subaru Telescope.

Science July 8, 2021

New Radio Receiver Opens Wider Window to Radio Universe

Researchers have used the latest wireless technology to develop a new radio receiver for astronomy. This is expected to enable significant progresses in the study of the evolution of the Universe and the mechanisms of star and planet formation.

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Science July 7, 2021

Small Amount of Lithium Production in Classical Nova

A new study of lithium production in a classical nova found a production rate of only a couple of percent that seen in other examples. This shows that there is a large diversity within classical novae and implies that nova explosions alone cannot explain the amount of lithium seen in the current Universe. This is an important result for understanding both the explosion mechanism of classical novae and the overall chemical evolution of the Universe.

Science July 2, 2021

Observation, Simulation, and AI Join Forces to Reveal a Clear Universe

Japanese astronomers have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) technique to remove noise in astronomical data due to random variations in galaxy shapes. This is a powerful new tool for analyzing big data from current and planned astronomy surveys.

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Science June 29, 2021

A New Type of Supernova Illuminates an Old One

A worldwide team of astronomers has discovered evidence for a new type of stellar explosion -- an electron-capture supernova. While this type has been theorized for over 40 years, this is the first observed example. These findings provide clues to the precursor of the Crab Nebula, a supernova observed by cultures all over the world in 1054.

Topics June 16, 2021

NAOJ Researchers Win 2021 MEXT Commendations for Science and Technology

Five members of NAOJ received awards in the 2021 Commendations for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). These awards honor outstanding results in research and development or the promotion of public understanding in science and technology.

Science June 11, 2021

ALMA Discovers Earliest Gigantic Black Hole Storm

Researchers using the ALMA discovered a titanic galactic wind driven by a supermassive black hole 13.1 billion years ago. This is the earliest-yet-observed example of such a wind to date and is a telltale sign that huge black holes have a profound effect on the growth of galaxies from the very early history of the Universe.

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