At Tokyo Dome City, the space experience facility Space Travelium TeNQ hosted a special exhibition, "Space Travel Photo Exhibition," from November to early January, featuring breathtaking astronomical images from the Subaru Telescope and other telescopes.
Figure 1: The opening space of Part 1 of the exhibition, "Subaru Telescope: Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe." (Credit: NAOJ)
In this exhibition, astronomical images stretched across the walls and even onto the floor, creating a powerful sense of scale that made visitors feel as though they had stepped directly into outer space. The exhibition was divided into two parts, with the first half dedicated to images taken by the Subaru Telescope, operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ).
Approximately 30 carefully selected images were on display, chosen from the photo book "25 Years of Cosmic Discovery with the Subaru Telescope." Ranging from objects within our Solar System to star-forming regions, and distant galaxies, the exhibition showcased the diversity of the Universe through large-format images rich in detail and depth.
The Scale Behind the Images: HSC Filters on Display
Alongside the astronomical images, the exhibition also featured real optical filters made for the Subaru Telescope’s wide-field prime-focus camera, Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC). Each filter measures about 60 centimeters in diameter. Viewing these massive components up close allowed visitors to imagine the full scale of the HSC instrument—about three meters tall and weighing roughly three tons—and to gain a sense of the Subaru Telescope’s immense size.
Figure 2: Two HSC filters on display. Light shining from behind passes through the filters, creating vivid colors and enhancing the visual experience. (Credit: NAOJ)
Astronomers Share the Stories Behind the Images
On December 19, a special panel discussion event was held featuring Junichi Watanabe (Project Professor at NAOJ), who supervised the exhibition, together with Masayuki Tanaka and Risa Matsumoto from Subaru Telescope, who served as editors of the photo book.
During the event, images from the exhibition were projected onto a large screen as the speakers explained how astronomers use the Subaru Telescope in their research. They shared stories about the challenges of observing at an altitude of 4,200 meters on Maunakea, the realities of modern remote observing, and behind-the-scenes anecdotes from the production of the photo book.
Among the Subaru Telescope’s images featured in the exhibition, both Watanabe and Tanaka selected the "Deep Imaging of the COSMOS Field" as their personal "top pick." Packed densely with countless galaxies, the image powerfully conveys the idea that the Universe is filled with galaxies in every direction.
Figure 4: Watanabe and Tanaka discussing their "top pick" image during the panel discussion. (Credit: NAOJ)
The panel concluded with the following reflections:
Watanabe:
"Astronomical images are often displayed in art museums and appreciated for their artistic qualities. This time, we were able to exhibit them at an exceptionally large scale in a venue that attracts people who love space. Opportunities to see these images at this size are rare, and I hope visitors can truly immerse themselves in the beauty of the Universe."
Tanaka:
"The photo book began as a personal project—I started creating beautiful images from HSC data simply for my own enjoyment. To see those images compiled into a book, and now displayed at such a large scale in a place like this, is deeply moving."
Experiencing the Universe Beyond the Exhibition
The exhibition provided a rare chance to experience the Universe through the Subaru Telescope on an immersive scale. Beyond the exhibition, these images can also be explored in the Subaru Telescope photo book and in the image gallery on the Subaru Telescope website.
Figure 5: Front cover (left) of the Subaru Telescope photo book featuring the Orion Nebula, and back cover (right) showing the Subaru Telescope enclosure beneath the starry sky of Maunakea. (Credit: Crevis inc.)
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