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ABOUT ME

I'm both a planetary scientist and an astronomer. I study our solar system through ground-based observations and planetary missions. My current interest is in revealing the solar system's history from the physical properties and compositions of small solar system bodies.

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望遠鏡を使った地上観測や惑星探査ミッションを通して、太陽系の研究をしている研究者です。 太陽系小天体の軌道分布や、物理特性、組成等に基づいて、太陽系の歴史を明らかにしていきます。

2019年より小惑星による掩蔽観測を始めました。日本の掩蔽観測者のためのワークショップを開催したり、IOTA/EAを立ち上げて、アジア圏の掩蔽観測の普及や観測者の育成に努めます。​

2009年の世界天文年を機会にアジア在住の天文学者の手でアジア・太平洋地域に伝わる星や宇宙の神話・伝説を公開しました。下のStars of Asia Projectからご覧いただけます。

RESEARCH INTERESTS

EDUCATION

Destiny+ mission (Flyby (3200) Phaethon and 2005UD)

I'm a science team member of this mission. Observation campaigns have been organized for the target bodies.  

March 31, 1990

Fukuoka University of Education,

Science course

Bachelor

Observations for asteroid families

By using small telescopes, I'm measuring rotation periods, shapes and colors of them.

Hayabusa2 mission

I'm a member of LIDAR team. I'm also interested in the Jupiter Trojan mission.

International and interfield collaborations

I'm working in the international team. I'm also working with anthropologists in order to understand how human recognizes our universe.

March 31, 1999

Fukuoka University of Education,

Natural Science Education

Master degree

March 31, 2002

Kobe University, Science

Doctor degree

Small bodies survey in our solar system

By using the HSC/Subaru telescope, I'm searching for the 9th planets and TNOs. It is an exploration of the icy world of the solar system. Our research team is conducting FOSSIL (Formation of the Outer Solar System – an Icy Legacy) survey.

Workshop on occultation observation

 (only in Japanese)

We promote occultation observations to measure the size and shape of objects in planetary exploration mission targets. We are trying to increase the number of observers who are willing to participate in occultation observations by holding workshops and providing observational manuals.

Stars of Asia project

The year 2009 was the World Year of Astronomy. It was established by the United Nations, UNESCO and the International Astronomical Union to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first astronomical observations with a telescope in 2009. As one of the events of the World Astronomical Year, astronomers in the Asian region collaborated to collect myths and traditions of stars from different parts of Asia to produce a book called "Star Stories of Asia" (https://www.hanmoto.com/bd/isbn/9784860500726).

Research interests

Educations

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