CHENNAI: One might imagine astronomers to be old men with grey hair, pouring over star charts and images of the night sky. But two of Chennai’s very own students have discovered a previously unknown asteroid!.As part of the All India Asteroid Search Campaign (AIASC), P Pragatheesh Prabhu and V Praveni of Shri Natesan Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Manivakkam were successful in registering a main belt asteroid discovery (TOV4A9). More than 60 schools participated in the nation wide campaign. The students will be given an opportunity to name the asteroid. This is the second year the campaign has been conducted in India. Organised by the Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE), an NGO, along with the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), the programme aims at drawing children to the science of astronomy.Anandha Mani, teacher coordinator of Natesan Vidyalaya, said, “Last year we were taught to operate the software used to analyse the images. Although we did not find anything last year, we are happy to have registered a discovery this year.” A provisional discovery is announced only when there are two additional observations made, followed by the preliminary discovery. The students were not available to comment, but Pragatheesh’s mother said that her son was ecstatic about the discovery. In a letter to the school, Space group CMD Sachin Bahmba congratulated the participants saying, “These children will eventually become the torch bearers of the scientific temper in the future.”
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