Subaru Telescope

Subaru Telescope (すばる望遠鏡, Subaru Bōenkyō) is the 8.2-meter (320 in) flagship telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, located at the Mauna Kea Observatory on Hawaii. It is named after the open star cluster known in English as the Pleiades. It had the largest monolithic primary mirror in the world from its commission until 2005. Subaru Telescope (すばる望遠鏡, Subaru Bōenkyō) is the 8.2-meter (320 in) flagship telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, located at the Mauna Kea Observatory on Hawaii. It is named after the open star cluster known in English as the Pleiades. It had the largest monolithic primary mirror in the world from its commission until 2005. The Subaru Telescope is a Ritchey-Chretien reflecting telescope. Instruments can be mounted at a Cassegrain focus below the primary mirror; at either of two Nasmyth focal points in enclosures on the sides of the telescope mount, to which light can be directed with a tertiary mirror; or at the prime focus in lieu of a secondary mirror, an arrangement rare on large telescopes, to provide a wide field of view suited to deep wide-field surveys. In 1984, the University of Tokyo formed an engineering working group to develop and study the concept of a 7.5-meter (300 in) telescope. In 1985, the astronomy committee of Japan's science council gave top priority to the development of a 'Japan National Large Telescope' (JNLT), and in 1986, the University of Tokyo signed an agreement with the University of Hawaii to build the telescope in Hawaii. In 1988, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan was formed through a reorganization of the University's Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, to oversee the JNLT and other large national astronomy projects. Construction of the Subaru telescope began in April 1991, and later that year, a public contest gave the telescope its official name, 'Subaru Telescope.' Construction was completed in 1998, and the first scientific images were taken in January 1999. In September 1999, Princess Sayako of Japan dedicated the telescope.