Two Pune students discover 6 preliminary asteroid

PUNE: Two students from a school in Lohegaon in Pune have discovered six preliminary asteroids in the Kalam Centre Asteroid Search Campaign organized by Kalam Centre and the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC).

In a release issued on Saturday, the Vikhe Patil School said Arya Pulate and Shreya Waghmare discovered the asteroids, adding that all 22 participants in the campaign were selected after a rigorous screening process through a worldwide event organized between November 9 and December 3.

They were selected from across the globe and trained to analyze data and spot potential asteroids close to Earth and 27 preliminary asteroid were discovered. "Preliminary discoveries are the first observations of asteroids found in the Main Belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter which need further confirmation to go to Provisional status. This usually takes up to 5 years after which the asteroid can be officially cataloged by Minor Planet Center, International Astronomical Union (IAU)," read the release.

"Knowing the asteroids around and mapping them is an important element in our bid to understand and monitor these flyings rocks around our planet," the school release quoted Srijan Pal Singh, former Adviser (Technology and Policy) to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, and founder of Kalam Centre.

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