Gekko Observatory

35.128526138.992393Koordinaten: 35 ° 7 ' 43 "N, 138 ° 59' 33" E

The Gekko Observatory (Japanese月光 天文台, Gekko temmondai ) is an astronomical observatory in Kannami in Shizuoka Prefecture on the island of Honshu in Japan and carries the IAU code 888 The name of the observatory means moonlight. It was founded in 1957 and is owned by the Foundation ( zaidan - Hojin ) Kokusai Bunka Kōyūkai (国际 文化 交友 会, Eng. International Foundation for Cultural Harmony). Between 1987 and 2000, astronomers discovered Yoshiaki Oshima and Tetsuo Kagawa from here 172 asteroids. As of January 30, 2010, the Observatory has the 49th place in the list of the entire asteroid discoveries worldwide.

The observatory is the namesake of the discovered by the Japanese astronomer Yoshiaki Oshima asteroid ( 4261 ) Gekko.