Gekko Observatory

Gekkou Astronomical Observatory

Code

888

Location

Shizuoka Prefecture

Altitude

312 m (1,024 ft)

Established

1957

Website
http://www.gekkou.or.jp/

Telescopes
Unnamed	20cm refracting telescope
Unnamed	50cm reflecting telescope

Gekko Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in the Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was founded in 1957 and is owned by the International Foundation for Cultural Harmony. Between 1987 and 2000, the astronomers Yoshiaki Oshima and Tetsuo Kagawa discovered 172 minor planets at this site. As of the year 2000, this observatory was ranked 40th in the world in terms of total asteroid discoveries.

Asteroid 4261 Gekko is named after this observatory. The IAU code for this observatory is 888. The name of the observatory means "moonlight".

References

Staff (2000). "Minor Planet Discovery Sites". IAU: Minor Planet Center. http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/lists/MPDiscSites.html. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer. ISBN 3-540-00238-3.