is a Japanese dentist, 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 ...

and discoverer of 13

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 the city of Akō in the Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, where his private Minami-Oda Observatory () is located. At the observatory, he observes comets and minor planets using his home-made 0.20-m reflector telescope together with his wife Kumi and daughter Saki. Familiar with electronics and mechanics, he has also developed his own CCD instrumentation. The asteroid 5591 Koyo, discovered by Japanese astronomer

Takeshi Urata was a Japanese astronomer. He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, observing at Nihondaira Observatory. In 1978 he became the first amateur to discover a minor planet (2090 Mizuho) in over fifty years, which he named after his daughter, Mizu ...

, was named in his honour.

References

1959 births Discoverers of asteroids * 20th-century Japanese astronomers Japanese dentists Living people {{japan-astronomer-stub