Kaoru Ikeya

Kaoru Ikeya (池谷 薫 Ikeya Kaoru?, 1943-) is a Japanese amateur astronomer[1] who discovered a number of comets.

As a young adult, Ikeya lived near Lake Hamana and worked for a piano factory. During his employment there, he made his first discovery in 1963 with an optical telescope he built himself within his low budget.[2] Two years later, he discovered the bright comet C/1965 S1 (Ikeya-Seki).

Ikeya discovered the periodic comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang on February 1, 2002 in Mori, Hokkaidō.[3][4] The asteroid 4037 Ikeya is also named after Ikeya.

On November 13, 2010, Ikeya discovered the P/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami) comet using an optical telescope, rare in an era with access to digital imaging technologies.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Ikeya-Murakami: The New Comet on the Cosmic Block". NASA. November 17, 2010. http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/watchtheskies/ikeya.html. Retrieved December 14, 2010. 
  2. ^ "Astronomy: Splendor in the Night". Time. October 22, 1965. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,941416,00.html. Retrieved December 14, 2010. 
  3. ^ "2002 Comet Awards Announced". Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. July 1, 2002. http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/archive/pr0217.html. Retrieved December 14, 2010. 
  4. ^ "Astronomy Picture of the Day: Comet Ikeya-Zhang". NASA. February 21, 2002. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap020221.html. Retrieved December 14, 2010.