Subaru Telescope: 20 Years of Observing the HeavensSubaru Telescope: 20 Years of Observing the Heavens

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Our Mysterious Solar System

Although the Solar System is familiar to us, it is still veiled in mystery. Comets are thought to be primordial objects that bear signatures from the birth of the Solar System. NASA crashed the spacecraft Deep Impact into Comet Tempel 1 to probe its inner structure. The moment of collision was observed by COMICS mounted on the Subaru Telescope in mid-infrared wavelengths. These observations revealed the chemical composition of the cometary interior blasted out by the impact.

An infrared image of Comet Tempel 1 taken with COMICS right after the Deep Impact collision
An infrared image of Comet Tempel 1 taken with COMICS right after the Deep Impact collision. The interior material of the comet was dispersed into space over several hours. (Credit: NAOJ)

After a challenging 7-year trip, JAXA’s asteroid probe Hayabusa touched down on Asteroid Itokawa and brought samples of its surface back to Earth. Suprime-Cam mounted on the Subaru Telescope captured Hayabusa right before re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. The valuable samples brought back by Hayabusa resulted in significant advances in asteroid research. I would like to conclude this article with the last image of Hayabusa.

An optical image of the asteroid probe Hayabusa before re-entry taken with Suprime-Cam
An optical image of the asteroid probe Hayabusa before re-entry taken with Suprime-Cam. By properly orienting the rectangular CCD, Suprime-Cam captured Hayabusa’s movement in one field.

Subaru Telescope Offitial Website

Here you will find more information about the Subaru Telescope and its observing instruments as well as the latest research results.