is a Japanese

amateur astronomer Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers m ...

and prolific discoverer of

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 ''minor ...

s. He was born in

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

, Japan and is a member of the ''Astronomical Society of Japan'' as well as of the ''Oriental Astronomical Association''. Through publications and the direction of junior associates, this

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

hunter has been responsible for the discovery of nearly 700 asteroids, many of them in association with

Kin Endate is a Japanese amateur astronomer who has discovered hundreds of asteroids, most of them in collaboration with Kazuro Watanabe, placing him among the most prolific discoverers of minor planets. Career in astronomy Kin Endate was born in Iw ...

. He is the author or the co-author of the Japanese publications ''Asteroid Hunter'' (小惑星ハンター), ''Celestial Body Photography Manual'' (天体写真マニュアル), ''The Celestial Sky of Our Dreams'' (僕らの夢の星空), as well as others. He also is a frequent contributor to the Japanese periodical ''Monthly Astronomical Guide'' (月刊天文ガイド). The minor planet 4155 Watanabe has been named in his honor.

Discoveries

Names of some asteroids

* Mamiya (間宮, 12127) – Named after the famous

Edo-period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

detective,

Mamiya Rinzō was a Japanese Exploration, explorer of the late Edo period. He is best known for his exploration of Karafuto, now known as Sakhalin. He mapped areas of northeast Asia then unknown to Japanese. Biography Mamiya was born in 1775 in Tsukuba Dist ...

. * Tentaikojo (天体工場, 12713) – Named after the museum of that name in

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

List of discovered asteroids

Kazuo Watanabe is credited by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Funct ...

with the discovery of 671

s made between 1987 and 2000. Some of his discoveries include (in alphabetical order) the minor planets 4263 Abashiri (Florian asteroid), 4585 Ainonai, 46610 Bésixdouze, 5331 Erimomisaki, 3915 Fukushima, 5474 Gingasen (Vestian binary), 9971 Ishihara, 11949 Kagayayutaka, 5481 Kiuchi, 6498 Ko (slow rotator), 6500 Kodaira (a Mars-crosser), 6980 Kyusakamoto (Koronian asteroid), 4607 Seilandfarm (rare-type binary), 5357 Sekiguchi and 5692 Shirao.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watanabe, Kazuo 1955 births Discoverers of asteroids 20th-century Japanese astronomers Living people Scientists from Hokkaido