Akihiko Tago
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese amateur astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...

.

He co-discovered several comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...

s, including C/1968 H1 (Tago-Honda-Yamamoto), C/1969 T1 (Tago-Sato-Kosaka), C/1987 B1 (Nishikawa-Takamizawa-Tago).

He also discovered several nova
Nova
A nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion in a star caused by the accretion of hydrogen on to the surface of a white dwarf star, which ignites and starts nuclear fusion in a runaway manner...

s, including V1493 Aql (Nova Aquilae 1999), V2275 Cyg (Nova Cygni 2001 no. 2), V574 Pup (Nova Puppis 2004), V2467 Cyg (Nova Cygni 2007) and V459 Vul (Nova Vulpeculae 2007 no.2).

In 2006 he was the first astronomer to discover a micro-lensing system outside the Magellanic Clouds
Magellanic Clouds
The two Magellanic Clouds are irregular dwarf galaxies visible in the southern hemisphere, which are members of our Local Group and are orbiting our Milky Way galaxy...

 and the bulge of our Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...

. The star GSC 3656-1328 suddenly brightened by four magnitudes in two weeks time and returned to its normal brightness two weeks later. A red or a brown dwarf star passed exactly in front of GSC 3656-1328 and the gravity of the dwarf star directed more light to the observers on Earth.

He lives in Tsuyama, Okayama
Tsuyama, Okayama
is a city located in Okayama, Japan.As of 2003, the city had an estimated population of 89,974 and the density of 484.43 persons per km². The total area was 185.73 km²...

.
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