Topics April 18, 2019

Yoshida and Other Researchers Receive the MEXT Commendation for Science and Technology

Prizes for Science and Technology (Research Category) in the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) were awarded to researchers who have achieved outstanding results in observation research using the Subaru Telescope.

Science April 10, 2019

Astronomers Capture First Image of a Black Hole — Japanese researchers contribute to paradigm-shifting observations of the gargantuan black hole at the heart of distant galaxy Messier 87

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) was designed to capture images of a black hole. Today, in coordinated press conferences across the globe, EHT researchers reveal that they have succeeded, unveiling the first direct visual evidence of a supermassive black hole and its shadow.

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Science April 3, 2019

Simulations Find Mechanism of Brightest Flashes in Universe

Scientists have used simulations to show that the photons emitted by long gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful electromagnetic phenomena in the Universe, originate at the visible surface of high-speed jets emitted by exploding stars.

Science April 2, 2019

WIMPs Beat MACHOs for Control of the Universe

An international team of researchers used observations with the Subaru Telescope to rule out MACHOs as a major component of dark matter.

Science March 28, 2019

Congratulations it’s Twins! Binary Stars Born Together

Astronomers have found a molecular cloud that is collapsing to form two massive protostars that will eventually become a binary star system. This observations show that binary stars form together.

Science March 20, 2019

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Star Formation and the Rich Dust from Ancient Stars

Researchers have detected a radio signal from abundant interstellar dust in MACS0416_Y1, a galaxy 13.2 billion light-years away in the constellation Eridanus.

Topics March 14, 2019

NAOJ Director General Saku Tsuneta Wins Japan Academy Prize

Dr. Saku Tsuneta, Director General of NAOJ, has won the Japan Academy Prize.

Science March 14, 2019

ALMA Observes the Formation Sites of Solar-System-like Planets

Researchers have spotted the formation sites of planets around a young star resembling our Sun. Two rings of dust around the star, at distances comparable to the asteroid belt and the orbit of Neptune in our Solar System, suggest that we are witnessing the formation of a planetary system similar to our own.

Science March 14, 2019

Astronomers Discover 83 Supermassive Black Holes in the Early Universe

A team of astronomers has discovered 83 quasars powered by supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the early Universe. This increases the number of black holes known at that epoch considerably, and reveals, for the first time, how common SMBHs were early in the Universe’s history.

Science March 12, 2019

Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration Enables Investigation of the Origin of Heavy Elements

A team of experts in nuclear fusion and astronomy has computed high-accuracy atomic data for analyzing light from a kilonova, a birth place of heavy elements.