Kin Endate
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese amateur astronomer who has discovered 600 asteroids (571 with Kazuro Watanabe
and 29 separately ), placing him among the most prolific discoverers of minor planets. His discoveries include the Trojan asteroid
(5648) 1990 VU1
and the Mars-crossing asteroid 6500 Kodaira
. He also recorded the first known precovery
images of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
with his private 10 inches (25.4 cm) diameter telescope on March 15, 1993, 10 days before the official discovery of the comet. (Kin, who was looking specifically for asteroids, did not know of the comet in his images until after the official discovery.)
Two asteroids have been named in his honor: 4282 Endate
after him, and 4460 Bihoro
after the city in which he lives.
He was born in Iwaizumi in Iwate Prefecture
and went to Hokkaido Designers School to study photography. He began taking astrophotos in high school, but did not begin serious asteroid observations until 1986.
Kazuro Watanabe
is an amateur Japanese astronomer. He was born in Hokkaidō, Japan and is a member of the Astronomical Society of Japan and Oriental Astronomical Association....
and 29 separately ), placing him among the most prolific discoverers of minor planets. His discoveries include the Trojan asteroid
Trojan asteroid
The Jupiter Trojans, commonly called Trojans or Trojan asteroids, are a large group of objects that share the orbit of the planet Jupiter around the Sun. Relative to Jupiter, each Trojan librates around one of the planet's two Lagrangian points of stability, and , that respectively lie 60° ahead...
(5648) 1990 VU1
(5648) 1990 VU1
1990 VU1 is a Jupiter Trojan minor planet. It was discovered by Kin Endate and Kazuro Watanabe at the Kitami Observatory in Hokkaidō, Japan, on November 11, 1990.-External links:*...
and the Mars-crossing asteroid 6500 Kodaira
6500 Kodaira
6500 Kodaira is a Mars-crossing asteroid discovered on March 15, 1993 by K. Endate at Kitami.- External links :*...
. He also recorded the first known precovery
Precovery
Precovery is a term used in astronomy that describes the process of finding the image of an object in old archived images or photographic plates, for the purpose of calculating a more accurate orbit...
images of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 was a comet that broke apart and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of solar system objects. This generated a large amount of coverage in the popular media, and the comet was closely observed by...
with his private 10 inches (25.4 cm) diameter telescope on March 15, 1993, 10 days before the official discovery of the comet. (Kin, who was looking specifically for asteroids, did not know of the comet in his images until after the official discovery.)
Two asteroids have been named in his honor: 4282 Endate
4282 Endate
4282 Endate is a main-belt asteroid discovered on October 28, 1987 by Seiji Ueda and Hiroshi Kaneda at Kushiro.- External links :*...
after him, and 4460 Bihoro
4460 Bihoro
4460 Bihoro is a main-belt asteroid discovered on February 28, 1990 by Kin Endate and Kazuro Watanabe at Kitami.- External links :*...
after the city in which he lives.
He was born in Iwaizumi in Iwate Prefecture
Iwate Prefecture
is the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido...
and went to Hokkaido Designers School to study photography. He began taking astrophotos in high school, but did not begin serious asteroid observations until 1986.