Bibliography

•  " Observing ." Subaru Telescope. NAOJ, n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2012. <http://subarutelescope.org/Observing/>. 
• "Subaru Telescope." Subaru Telescope. NAOJ, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 8 Dec. 2012. <http://subarutelescope.org/index.html>. 
• Wainscoat , Richard . "Subaru Telescope." Institute for Astronomy. Hawaii Education , 27 Feb. 1998. Web. 8 Dec. 2012. <http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/images/aerial-tour/subaru.html>.  
• "Subaru Telescope Reveals 3D Structure of Supernovae « NAOJ | Release « NAOJ." 国立天文台. NAOJ, 3 Aug. 2012. Web. 8 Dec. 2012. <http://www.nao.ac.jp/E/release/2012/08/03/subaru-telescope-reveals-3d-structure-of-supernovae.html>.   
• Carson, J.. "Rare image of Super-Jupiter sheds light on planet formation." Phys.org - Science News, Technology, Physics, Nanotechnology, Space Science, Earth Science, Medicine. N.p., 19 Nov. 2012. Web. 8 Dec. 2012. <http://phys.org/news/2012-11-rare-image-super-jupiter-planet-formation.html>.  

  

Pictures

Location of the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii

Diagram 

Pictures Taken by Subaru

Super Jupiter

Sombrero Galaxy

Stephan's Quintet HCG92

Young Binary System SR24

More in Depth

Telescope

Subaru is a reflecting Ritchey-Chretien telescope. It also has two hyperbolic, or curved mirrors. Subaru also has two main focuses; prime  and cassegrainian. Also has a Nasmyth Focus;optical and infrared.

Main Mirror

Subaru's main mirror is 8.227 meters or 324 inches. The diameter is 27 feet.

First Light

Subaru's fist light was in 1998 on mountain Mauna Kea located in Hawaii. It was originally scheduled for 2000. 

Sponsors

Subaru has many sponsors such as; the NAOJ, Hawaii Department of Education, Sagan Center, and Gemini Observatory.

Cost

Subaru all together costed somewhere around 377 million dollars.

Major Discoveries

1. On December 29, 2011 Subaru revealed an image that adds to our understanding of the relationship between disks and planet formation. It took  a crisp high-contrast image of the dust ring around HR 4796. The resolution was so clear that the offset between its center and the star's position can be measured. Subaru's data revealed that it was much larger than previously thought.
2. On November 27, 2012 Subaru captured a clear image of the protoplanetary disk of the star UX Tauri A. The results of this shows how dust grains collide and adhere to each other which leads to the formation of planets. 
3. On November 19, 2012 Subaru observed a super Jupiter orbiting the star Kappa Andromedae. Using the Infrared Camera and Spectrograph mounted on Subaru they could see the mass was 13 times Jupiter's. The host star has a mass 2 times the Sun's making it the highest mass star to ever host a directly imaged planet.

Neat Facts

* Mountain Mauna Kea where Subaru is located is actually a dormant volcano.

*Subaru is one of the most technically advanced telescopes. 

*The mirrors used in Subaru weigh a total of 25 tons. 

*Subaru's observatory actually moves with the telescope.

*Subaru's prime focus camera is a 80 mega pixel camera with a field view that's equal to a full moon.  

*The blue panels on top of the observatory are aluminum panels that reflect the blue sky.

Getting to Know the Subaru Telescope

    First known as Japan National Large Telescope, "JNLT", the name Subaru was chosen out of 3500 other names. Subaru means a Japanese name of Pleiades. Subaru was constructed by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan or more commonly known as NAOJ. Subaru's  first light was in 1998. The primary mirror is 8.3 meters in diameter and is made from ultra-low thermal expansion glass. This happens to be the largest single piece mirror in the world.It is a reflecting telescope.