Kitami Observatory is an
astronomical observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
in the Kitami-Abashiri Region Cultural Centre in eastern
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 la ...
,
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 observatory code is 400. It is 0.72344 Earth radii from the rotation axis and +0.68811 Earth radii from the equatorial plane, 143.7827 degrees east of
Greenwich.
The
amateur astronomer
Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers m ...
s
Atsushi Takahashi and
Kazuro Watanabe
is a Japanese amateur astronomer and prolific discoverer of minor planets. He was born in Hokkaidō, Japan and is a member of the ''Astronomical Society of Japan'' as well as of the ''Oriental Astronomical Association''.
Through publications ...
discovered many
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 here. , 680 discoveries have been made at Kitami.
See also
*
Kin Endate
is a Japanese amateur astronomer who has discovered hundreds of asteroids, most of them in collaboration with Kazuro Watanabe, placing him among the most prolific discoverers of minor planets.
Career in astronomy
Kin Endate was born in Iwa ...
*
List of observatories
This is a list of astronomical observatories ordered by name, along with initial dates of operation (where an accurate date is available) and location. The list also includes a final year of operation for many observatories that are no longer in ...
**
List of asteroid-discovering observatories
The list of asteroid-discovering observatories contains a section for each observatory which has discovered one or more asteroids, along with a list of those asteroids.
For each numbered asteroid, the Minor Planet Center lists one or more discov ...
*
Tetsuya Fujii
Notes
External links
Kitami Region Museum of Science History and Artofficial website
Astronomical observatories in Japan
Museums in Hokkaido
Minor-planet discovering observatories
Kitami, Hokkaido
Planetaria in Japan
Museums established in 1987
1987 establishments in Japan
{{observatory-stub
ja:北網圏北見文化センター#施設・展示