Named in honor of Yasuo Fukui (b. 1951), professor at Nagoya University and a radio astronomer specializing in molecular clouds and the birth of stars. He established and directs the operation of the “Nanten” millimeter-wavelength radio telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. He is a winner of the Vainu Bappu Gold Medal and other prizes. Name proposed by the discoverers following a suggestion by T. Sato and A. Fujii.
Discovered on 2-10-1994 in Kitami by Endate, K., Watanabe, K.