Has contributed greatly to advancement of radio astronomy since debuting as the-world's largest millimeter-wave telescope

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO:6503) announced today that the Nobeyama 45-m Radio Telescope has been certified as an "IEEE Milestone" by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The certification recognizes the many technical difficulties that were overcome to develop the world's largest millimeter-wave radio telescope at the time of its debut in 1982, leading to groundbreaking achievements such as the discovery of a supermassive black hole while continuing to perform as a world-leading radio telescope to the present day.

This is the NAOJ’s first IEEE Milestone. The commemorative plaque presented by the IEEE will be exhibited at the NAOJ’s Mitaka Campus, the Nobeyama Radio Observatory and Mitsubishi Electric Communication Systems Center.

The history of the Nobeyama 45-m Radio Telescope dates back to 1967. Millimeter waves were an unexplored field at the time, so there was a need to spectroscopically observe millimeter waves emitted from various molecules in the universe to explore new fields, such as the process of star formation and the structure of galaxies. The Nobeyama 45-m Radio Telescope was conceived as the world's largest telescope with a 45-meter diameter at a time when the world's largest radio telescope had a diameter of 11 meters.

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InquiriesAbout NAOJ:National Astronomical Observatory of JapanPublic Relations Center Public Relations Office2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, JAPANPhone: +81-422-34-3621 (Head: Dr. Yamaoka) / Fax: +81-422-34-3810E-mail: hitoshi.yamaoka@nao.ac.jporAbout Nobeyama 45-m Radio Telescope:Nobeyama Radio Observatory462-2 Nobeyama, Minamimaki, Minamisaku, Nagano, 384-1305, JAPANPhone: +81-267-98-4355 (staff: Dr. Kinugasa) / Fax: +81-267-98-3579E-mail: kinugasa.kenzo@nao.ac.jporMitsubishi Electric CorporationPublic Relations Division2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8310, JapanPhone: +81-3-3218-2831 (staff: Niels Meinke) / Fax: +81-3-3218-2431E-mail: Niels.Meinke@ah.MitsubishiElectric.co.jp