Mitsubishi Electric unveils Japan’s largest telescope

OSAKA, Nov. 14 (Kyodo) — Mitsubishi Electric Corp. on Friday unveiled a new high-powered telescope with a 2-meter diameter, which it claims to be the largest in Japan.

The 740 million yen telescope, to be installed at an observatory in Hyogo Prefecture, will be shown to the public and become fully ready for astronomical observation by the end of October 2004, the electronics maker said.

The telescope is the world’s largest among those intended to be made available for the public to see, it said.

Previously, the largest telescope in Japan was one with a 1.8-meter diameter, which is installed at an observatory in Okayama Prefecture, according to Mitsubishi Electric officials.

Measuring 9.3 meters high and weighing 39 tons, the new telescope will enable users to see galaxies 1 billion light years away, the officials said.

The world’s largest telescope — the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan’s Subaru telescope, with a diameter of 8.2 meters — is located at an observatory in Hawaii. It was also made by Mitsubishi Electric.