The Aira VLBI Station is in Kitayama, Aira-city. The city has very favorable
conditions for astronomical observations, and has an astronomical
observatory, "Star Land Aira", which the ex-director is the late
Mr.Hyakutake who became famous as a comet discoverer. The observatory is
next to the station.
The station has a 10-m diameter antenna, which is the same as the Chichijima station, and is operated as an identical twin of the Chichijima station .
Observations are performed with other domestic VLBI stations once
a month by remote control from the Tsukuba VLBI Center of GSI in Ibaraki.
the Star Land Aira
Aira 10-m antenna
from a lateral view
remote monitoring camera installed on the outer wall of the station building