Indian students successfully found 18 new asteroids making India proud. Hence, this was a part of a global science program led by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU is an organization that assigns official names to celestial bodies.
The International Asteroid Discovery Project was conducted and 150 students from India participated. Hence, it was conducted by STEM and Space which is an organization making efforts for India’s involvement in space learning. The International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), a part of the NASA citizen science project also assisted.
How did the project undergo for Indian Students?
It was a two-month-long program attended by over 150 Indian students. Hence, this campaign for finding asteroids was the largest asteroid discovery project in India. This information was shared by Mila Mitra, the Co-founder and academic head of STEM and Space.
Hence, the campaign was an online scientific program for kids. Therefore, the students discovered asteroids and other Near Earth Objects (NEO). They analyzed high-quality astronomical data given by IASC. Also, other rocky objects moving near the orbits of Mars and Jupiter were reached. The reason was simply that they could pose some threat to earth.
Mila Mitra on the organization of this project for Indian Students:
NASA is the main body behind organizing such campaigns and programs. Hence, Mila Mitra says that the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) was also NASA’s idea. Therefore, these programs enable students and citizens to discover and track more asteroids
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She also explained that students used advanced software and spent around two to three hours daily. Hence, the Indian students successfully found 18 asteroids. However, a total of 372 preliminary asteroids were flagged which were provisional. Hence, 18 were confirmed last month.