NATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY OF JAPAN (NAOJ) - NOBEYAMA

This beautiful radio-astronomical observatory is located in the highlands of Nobeyama, in the province of Nagano. Various advanced observation instruments are installed, including the Nobeyama 45-m (for 45 m diameter), Nobeyama Millimeter Array and Nobeyama Radioheliograph (antenna arrays). The 45 m radio telescope is one of the largest in the world, capable of picking up extremely weak signals from distant objects in the Universe. The Nemeyama Millimeter Array (NMA), on the other hand, is a telescope array consisting of six parabolic antennas. It is thus able to produce high-resolution images of space, similar to what a single 600 m diameter antenna would give! The Nobeyama Radioheliograph, finally, is a radio telescope dedicated to observing the Sun. It consists of 84 parabolic antennas, each 80 cm in diameter, resting on sectors 490 m long from east to west, and 220 m long from north to south.

Part of the site of this observatory is open to the public. The visit is free, with explanatory panels along the route. Of course, it is not an optical observatory, with its beautiful domes and classic telescopes pointing towards the starry sky, but a radio observatory that points its antennas, night and day (the blue sky or clouds do not stop the radio waves) towards the sky. But the site is quite spectacular and testifies to the high technology developed to build it. The uninitiated will find the place strange, the enthusiasts will be thrilled.