Yuji Hyakutake | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1950-07-07)July 7, 1950 |
| Died | April 10, 2002(2002-04-10) (aged 51) |
Yuji Hyakutake (百武 裕司,Hyakutake Yūji; July 7, 1950 – April 10, 2002) was a Japaneseamateur astronomer who discoveredComet C/1996 B2, also known as Comet Hyakutake on January 31, 1996, while using 25×150binoculars.
Hyakutake graduated from theKyushu Sangyo University as a photography major and started working at a newspaper inFukuoka.[1] He first became interested inastronomy after seeingComet Ikeya–Seki in 1965.[2] He began searching for comets in 1989. In 1993, he moved toHayato for because “the skies were much clearer there” and so he could better continue his search for comets.[1] His first discovery was CometC/1995 Y1, on December 26, 1995.[3]
Hyakutake discovered C/1996 B2 while looking for C/1995 Y1, a comet he had discovered a few weeks before.[4][5]
He died inKokubu, Kagoshima, in 2002 at age 51 of ananeurysm which had led tointernal bleeding.[2]
Asteroid7291 Hyakutake is named after him.[6][7]
Media related toYuji Hyakutake (astronomer) at Wikimedia Commons