is a Japanese amateur

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either obse ...

and discoverer of

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 ''mino ...

s. He lives in

Kitami is a city in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the most populous city and the commercial center in the subprefecture, although the subprefecture capital is Abashiri. Kitami is physically in the middle of Okhotsk Subprefecture. Th ...

on the island of

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

in northern Japan, where he observes

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

s and

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are ...

s at the Kitami Observatory (). Takahashi is a member of the local astronomy club "Hokkaidō Suisei Shōwakusei Kaigi" (北海道彗星・小惑星会議, '' en, Conference for comets and asteroids Hokkaidō''). With his colleague Kazuro Watanabe, 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 T ...

with the co-discovery of 22 minor planets between 1989 and 1991, including his lowest numbered discovery, the asteroid 4644 Oumu. Takahashi and Watanabe also discovered the inner main-belt asteroid 5214 Oozora in 1990, while working at Hokkaido Kitami Observatory. 5214 Oozora is named for Super Ōzora, the first express train in Hokkaidō. At Watanabe's suggestion, the main-belt asteroid 4842 Atsushi, discovered by

Seiji Ueda is a Japanese astronomer. He is a prolific discoverer of minor planets. Between 1987 and 2000, Ueda (in collaboration with Hiroshi Kaneda) discovered 705 asteroids. He holds an MD and Ph.D. from Stanford University and is on the staff at the G ...

and Hiroshi Kaneda at Kushiro in 1989, was named in Takahashi's honor. Naming citation was published on 1 September 1993 ().

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takahashi, Atsushi 20th-century Japanese astronomers Discoverers of asteroids * Living people Year of birth missing (living people)