is a Japanese seismologist, 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, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

and a

discoverer of minor planets This is a list of minor-planet discoverers credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of one or several minor planets (such as near-Earth and main-belt asteroids, Jupiter trojans and distant objects). , the discovery of 612,011 nu ...

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 ...

s. Kushida is the founder of the

Yatsugatake South Base Observatory is an observatory in Hokuto, Yamanashi, Japan. Its observatory code is 896. It is frequently used due to its proximity to the Greater Tokyo Area, which has resulted in many asteroid discoveries. Yoshio Kushida has worked on observational researc ...

. He is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 56 numbered

minor planets 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 ...

during 1988–1994, most of them in collaboration with astronomer

Osamu Muramatsu is a Japanese astronomer and discoverer of asteroids and comets. He is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 73 minor planets. He also co-discovered 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu, a periodic comet. Muramatsu works at the planeta ...

, as well as with Masaru Inoue and with his wife

Reiki Kushida is a Japanese amateur astronomer, discoverer of supernovas such as 1991bg (the first visual discovery made by a female astronomer), and co-discoverer of 4875 Ingalls, a Flora asteroid from the main-belt. Reiki Kushida is married to ast ...

. He also discovered and co-discoverer the two periodic comets 144P/Kushida and 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu, respectively. The main-belt asteroid 5605 Kushida, discovered by

Satoru Otomo is a Japanese dentist, amateur astronomer and a discoverer of minor planets. According to the Minor Planet Center, he is credited with the discovery of 148 asteroids between 1991 and 1997, 15 of which were co-discoveries with Osamu Muramatsu. ...

at Kiyosato in 1993, was named in his honor. Naming citation was published on 28 July 1999 ().

List of discovered minor planets

References

External links

* http://www.nayoro-star.jp/photo/tenmondai-houmon/kushida.html (in Japanese) * https://web.archive.org/web/20081010041555/http://www.obusession.com/guest/guest058.htm 1957 births Discoverers of asteroids * 20th-century Japanese astronomers Living people People from Hachiōji, Tokyo {{japan-astronomer-stub