Kaoru Ikeya (池谷 薫, Ikeya Kaoru, born 1943)[1] is a Japanese amateur astronomer[2] who discovered a number of comets.
As a young adult, Ikeya lived near Lake Hamana and worked for a piano factory. During his employment there, he made his first discovery in 1963 with an optical telescope he built himself within his low budget.[3] Two years later, he discovered the bright comet C/1965 S1 (Ikeya-Seki). Ikeya discovered the periodic comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang on February 1, 2002 in Mori, Hokkaidō.[4][5] The asteroid 4037 Ikeya is also named after Ikeya. On November 13, 2010, Ikeya discovered the P/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami) comet using an optical telescope, rare in an era with access to digital imaging technology.[2]
Ikeya contributed his skill to the perfectly ground optics used in the construction of the Pentax 40cm Cassegrain reflector telescope installed at the Singapore Science Centre Observatory in March, 1989.[6]
References
- ^ David J. Eicher, Comets!: Visitors from Deep Space (Cambridge University Press, 2013) p72
- ^ a b "Ikeya-Murakami: The New Comet on the Cosmic Block". NASA. November 17, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ "Astronomy: Splendor in the Night". Time. October 22, 1965. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ "2002 Comet Awards Announced". Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. July 1, 2002. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (21 February 2002). "Comet Ikeya-Zhang". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
- ^ Chong, S. M. (Siew Meng), 1950- (2002), Photographic atlas of the moon, Lim, Albert (Albert Chee Hoon), 1959-, Ang, P. S. (Poon Seng), 1960-, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780511158155, OCLC 905960714