Kōichirō Tomita
was a Japanese astronomer, discoverer of minor planets and comets. The fireball passed over west Japan and was recorded by photos and a sketch. Kōichirō Tomita identified that it was the Kosmos 133 spacecraft (30 November 1966). He is credited by the Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ... with the discovery of 9 numbered minor planets during 1978–1982, such as 2252 CERGA, 3056 INAG, 3765 Texereau, 4051 Hatanaka. He is the author of at least one astronomy book (in Japanese) about comets (which was translated and published in Russian in 1982). The Nysa asteroid 2391 Tomita is named after him. References 1925 births 2006 deaths Discoverers of asteroids Discoverers of comets * 20th-century Japanese astronomers {{japan-as ...
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Minor Planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor planet'', but that year's meeting reclassified minor planets and comets into dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies (SSSBs).Press release, IAU 2006 General Assembly: Result of the IAU Resolution votes
International Astronomical Union, August 24, 2006. Accessed May 5, 2008. Minor planets include asteroids (