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The Subaru telescope is an optical-infrared telescope at the 4,200m summit of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. The telescope represents a new generation in telescope design not only because of the size of its primary mirror with an effective aperture of 8.2 meters, but also because of the various revolutionary technologies used to achieve outstanding performance. An active support system that maintains an unprecedentedly high mirror surface accuracy, a new enclosure design to suppress local atmospheric turbulence, an extremely accurate tracking mechanism using magnetic driving systems, seven observational instruments installed at the four foci, and an auto-exchanger system to use the observational instruments effectively are just some of the unique features associated with this telescope. These sophisticated systems have been used and fine-tuned since the telescope's First Light.

For more information visit Subaru Telescope website.

Image Credit: The enclosure of Subaru Telescope - Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)
The cassegrain focus- Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)
The summit of Mauna Kea in the snow - Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)
The prime focus unit and primary mirror - Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)