Subaru Telescope
Japanese telescope and observatory
Subaru Telescope (すばる望遠鏡, Subaru Bōenkyō) is the 8.2-metre (320 in) 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 commissioning until the Large Binocular Telescope opened in 2005.
Overview
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-metre (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 Hawaiʻi 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 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.
“Subaru Telescope” enters the record as japanese telescope and observatory. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Subaru, Telescope and Japanese can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Subaru Telescope” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Subaru, Telescope and Japanese provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q841079. Authority coordinates are 19.826, -155.476. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2005, 1984, 1985 and 1986.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Subaru Telescope”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Subaru Telescope primary sources, Subaru Telescope archive and Subaru research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Subaru Telescope”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Subaru Telescope” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.