The is a

not-for-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Its formal status under the Japanese law is .

Missions

The aims of the Japan Spaceguard Association (JSGA) echoes that of

The Spaceguard Foundation The Spaceguard Foundation (SGF) is a private organization based in Frascati, Italy, whose purpose is to study, discover and observe near-Earth objects (NEO) and protect the Earth from the possible threat of their collision. The Foundation (chari ...

and other

spaceguard The term Spaceguard loosely refers to a number of efforts to discover, catalogue, and study near-Earth objects (NEO), especially those that may impact Earth (potentially hazardous objects). Asteroids are discovered by telescopes which repeated ...

movements: to protect the Earth's environment from a disastrous

near-Earth object A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body whose orbit brings it into proximity with Earth. By convention, a Solar System body is a NEO if its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 astronomical units (AU). ...

(NEO) collision by studying and observing the NEOs.Article 3 of th
by-laws of JSGA
JSGA operates the

Bisei Spaceguard Center The Bisei Spaceguard Center (BSGC) is an astronomical observatory located at Bisei-chō, Okayama, Japan. The facility was constructed during 1999–2000, where it since conducts the Bisei Asteroid Tracking Telescope for Rapid Survey or , an as ...

, owned by the Japan Space Forum, to achieve their goal. It is located near Bisei town in the western Japan. In addition to the search for NEOs, this facility will be used to track debris in

Earth's orbit Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of 149.60 million km (92.96 million mi) in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from above the Northern Hemisphere. One complete orbit takes days (1 sidereal year), during which time Earth ...

. 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 ...

credits JSGA with the discovery of the main-belt asteroid , made at

Kiso Observatory Kiso Observatory ( ja, 木曽観測所: Kiso Kansokujo) is an astronomical observatory located at Mt. Ontake in Japan. The observatory was founded in 1974, originally as a branch observatory of the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, with the expres ...

on 6 December 1996.

International asteroid monitoring project

JSGA as being a , it is keen to have astronomical education for young people and in 2001 held Spaceguard

Private Investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

s of the Stars: ''the fugitives are asteroids!'' rally as part of its asteroid monitoring project.

Yoshiaki Oshima (born 1952) is a Japanese astronomer at Gekko Observatory and prolific discoverer of 61 asteroids as credited by the Minor Planet Center, and include the binary asteroid 4383 Suruga, the potentially hazardous object (7753) 1988 XB and the Jupit ...

was seated at the operating committee and the jury, and JSGA submitted a paper on that project in a proceedings.Oshima contributed to the paper. British Council advised JSGA for its contest and supported them to present their project to observatories and laboratories. To run the contest and along with the Bisei Spaceguard Center, an optical telescope on the

Canary island The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocco ...

operated by

Liverpool John Moores University , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

transmitted images to each participant via internet connection. In total, 438 school classes and other teams signed up with 1,317 people, and 133 group and individual contestants reported the results of their observation. The

Yomiuri Shinbun The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; th ...

newspaper sponsored the project and run articles reporting the progress of the contest. The Liverpool John Moores University and their

Astrophysics Research Institute The Astrophysics Research Institute (ARI) is an astronomy and astrophysics research institute in Merseyside, UK. Formed in 1992, it stood on the Twelve Quays site in Birkenhead from 1998 until June 2013 when it relocated to the Liverpool Scie ...

operates the National Schools' Observatory program with a robotic telescope on the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, and schools in the United Kingdom register to monitor asteroids from remoted locations. They cosponsored the International Schools' Observatory (ISO) program

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

had organized, when 12 teams of junior high to senior high school classes took part from Asian and European countries. The contestants for Spaceguard Private Investigators of the Stars sent their reports due March 4, 2001, and JSGA examined 133 reports over the period of two weeks. On 14 March the jury meeting was held, and winners were announced on Yomiuri Shinbun on 20 March 2001. Award overview as well as assessment comments were published along with presentation report and interviews to awardees. JSGA presented the prospectus for future astronomic education and asteroid hunting projects.

Notes

References

External links

Japan Spaceguard Association

{{Authority control Space program of Japan Astronomical surveys Non-profit organizations based in Japan Planetary defense organizations

Missions

International asteroid monitoring project

See also

Notes

References

External links