The Subaru Telescope, one of the largest in the world, sits atop Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii. The isolated peak is one of the best on Earth for astronomical viewing. Scientists from Princeton University and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) have joined to form the NAOJ-Princeton Astrophysics Collaboration or N-PAC. Over the next 10 years, they will use the telescope to look at both the distant and near universe.

Photo: Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

Scientists from Princeton and Japan, working under a new research partnership, will use the 8.2-meter optical infrared Subaru Telescope to look for new planets and the hypothesized dark energy. The studies will be made possible by a new generation of instruments specially made for the telescope.

Photo: Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan