Yoshihide Kozai facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yoshihide Kozai
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| Born | April 1, 1928 |
| Died | February 5, 2018 (aged 89) Tokyo, Japan
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| Known for | Kozai mechanism |
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Yoshihide Kozai (born April 1, 1928 – died February 5, 2018) was a famous Japanese astronomer. He was an expert in celestial mechanics, which is the study of how planets, moons, and other space objects move.
He is best known for discovering something called the Kozai mechanism. He found this at the same time as another scientist, Michael Lidov. For this important discovery, he won the Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy in 1979.
Kozai was also the first Japanese person to lead the International Astronomical Union. This is a big group of astronomers from all over the world. He was their president from 1988 to 1991. He also directed the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan for many years, from 1981 to 1994.
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Meet Yoshihide Kozai
Yoshihide Kozai was born in Tokyo, Japan, on April 1, 1928. He went to the University of Tokyo and earned his science degree there.
He started his career helping out at the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory. In 1958, he visited the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in the United States to do research.
In 1963, he became an assistant professor at the University of Tokyo Astronomical Observatory. He also won the Asahi Prize that same year. Later, in 1965, he became the director of a special facility that calculated orbits for satellites.
His Amazing Discoveries
In 1966, Kozai became a full professor at the University of Tokyo. He then led the Dodaira Observatory starting in 1973. From 1981 to 1994, he was the director of the main National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
His biggest discovery, the Kozai mechanism, earned him the Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy in 1979. This mechanism helps explain how the orbits of objects in space can change over long periods.
In 1988, Kozai made history by becoming the first Japanese president of the International Astronomical Union. He held this important role until 1991.
He received many other awards for his work. In 1989, he got the Brouwer Award from the American Astronomical Society. He was also honored by the Japanese government with the Order of the Sacred Treasure in 2002 and the Person of Cultural Merit in 2009.
From 1997 to 2012, he directed the Gunma Astronomical Observatory. After that, he was its honorary director.
Yoshihide Kozai passed away on February 5, 2018, at the age of 89.
His Lasting Legacy
To honor his important contributions to astronomy, an asteroid was named after him. It is called 3040 Kozai.
Awards and Special Recognitions
- Asahi Prize (1963)
- Imperial Prize of the Japan Academy (1979)
- Brouwer Award (1989)
- Order of the Sacred Treasure (2002)
- Person of Cultural Merit (2009)
