Iitate Planetary Radio Telescope

In the hills of Iitate village, Fukushima Prefecture, the Iitate Planetary Radio Telescope listens for radio waves from Jupiter, the Sun and distant pulsars rather than gathering visible light.

About Iitate Planetary Radio Telescope

The Iitate Planetary Radio Telescope, known as IPRT, is a radio telescope in Iitate village, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, developed and operated by Tohoku University. It has been in operation since 2000 and has a physical aperture of 1,023 square metres.

Telescopes & research

IPRT observes natural radio emission at meter and decimeter wavelengths, using fixed receivers at 325 and 785 MHz alongside a wide-band receiver covering 150–500 MHz. Its research programme centres on the dynamics of Jupiter's synchrotron radiation, solar radio emissions and pulsar observations. A dedicated system called AMATERAS (Assembly of Metric-band Aperture TElescope and Real-time Analysis System) monitors solar radio bursts across the 150–500 MHz band, and the telescope also takes part in Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations linked to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project.

Location & getting there

The telescope stands in Iitate, a village in Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan, at approximately 37°42′N, 140°41′E.

Visiting Iitate Planetary Radio Telescope

As a university research instrument, IPRT is primarily used for scientific observation rather than public tours. Check Tohoku University's observatory pages for any current visiting or outreach information before travelling.

See your named star from here

IPRT is tuned to radio waves rather than visible starlight, so it isn't the place to spot a named star directly. For that, look up your star's coordinates in the star catalogue after naming one through Star Register, and view it with an optical telescope.