Satoru Takeuchi

Satoru Takeuchi is a planetary scientist who devoted himself to the study of one of the most dramatic astronomical events of the 20th century: the collision of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with Jupiter.

While in his doctoral program, he made the unusual decision to postpone the submission of his PhD dissertation in order to focus on this rare and historic event. Working in collaboration with astronomers at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, including Jun-ichi Watanabe and Hitoshi Hasegawa, he contributed to a research project on the event. Their joint research, which investigated the formation of dust produced by the comet’s collision with Jupiter, was published as a scientific paper and attracted international attention for its contribution to understanding planetary impact phenomena.

This research topic was also introduced to the general public through a popular science magazine: The Collision of a Comet with Jupiter: Tracing the Mystery of Dust Formation (Nikkei Science)

After completing his doctoral studies, Dr. Takeuchi was invited as a research fellow to the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA, now JAXA), where he contributed to the lunar exploration project RUNA-A. Although the project was later canceled in 2007, it represented an important stage in Japan’s lunar exploration efforts.

He was subsequently invited to join the faculty at the time of the founding of the Department of Earth System Science in the Faculty of Science at Fukuoka University. He is currently an assistant profeesor and research in Earth and planetary sciences.

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Ph.D. in Science, Kyushu University

Research Fields
Atmospheric Science, Astronomy, Planetary Science

Academic Positions
1996–1998: Visiting Researcher, National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA)
1998–Present: Faculty of Science, Fukuoka University

Education
1988: B.Sc., Physics, Tokyo Metropolitan University
1996: Ph.D., Physics, Kyushu University

Awards
1997: Nikkei Science 25th Anniversary Paper Award (Grand Prize)
Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 Impact on Jupiter: The Mystery of Dust Production
Junichi Watanabe, Hitoshi Hasegawa, Satoru Takeuchi

Professional Societies
Astronomical Society of Japan
Meteorological Society of Japan
Japanese Society for Planetary Sciences