Yuji Hyakutake
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Yuji Hyakutake | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 7, 1950 |
| Died | April 10, 2002 (aged 51) |
Yuji Hyakutake (百武 裕司, Hyakutake Yūji; July 7, 1950 – April 10, 2002) was a Japanese amateur astronomer who discovered Comet C/1996 B2, also known as Comet Hyakutake on January 31, 1996, while using 25×150 binoculars.
Hyakutake graduated from the Kyushu Sangyo University as a photography major and started working at a newspaper in Fukuoka.[1] He first became interested in astronomy after seeing Comet Ikeya–Seki in 1965.[2] He began searching for comets in 1989. In 1993, he moved to Hayato for because “the skies were much clearer there” and so he could better continue his search for comets.[1] His first discovery was Comet C/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 in Kokubu, Kagoshima, in 2002 at age 51 of an aneurysm which had led to internal bleeding.[2]
Asteroid 7291 Hyakutake is named after him.[6][7]
