Reiki Kushida facts for kids

Reiki Kushida (pronounced Ray-key Koo-shee-dah) is a Japanese amateur astronomer. An amateur astronomer is someone who studies space as a hobby, not as their main job. She is famous for finding supernovas and helping to discover an asteroid.

A supernova is a huge, bright explosion of a star. Reiki Kushida was the first woman to visually discover a supernova, which means she saw it with her own eyes! This special supernova was named 1991bg.

Discovering Asteroids

Reiki Kushida also helped discover an asteroid called 4875 Ingalls. She found it on February 19, 1991. This asteroid is a type called a Flora asteroid, and it travels in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

A Family of Stargazers

Reiki Kushida is married to another astronomer, Yoshio Kushida. He is also very good at finding minor planets and comets. A minor planet is a small object orbiting the Sun, like an asteroid. A comet is an icy space object that releases gas and dust, often forming a "tail" as it gets close to the Sun.

An Asteroid Named After Her

Because of her important work, an asteroid was named in her honor! This asteroid is called 5239 Reiki. It was discovered by another astronomer, Shun-ei Izumikawa, and named after her on February 6, 1993.

See also

In Spanish: Reiki Kushida para niños