Two students from the city of Surat, in western India, discovered a new asteroid. The 14-year-old girls participated in an asteroid search program organized by Space India. The organization works to develop science and astronomy in the country, in partnership with a NASA affiliate, the International Astronomical Search Collaboration.
The discovery was made in June with the help of software that analyzes images captured by the telescopes of the PAN-STARRS program in Hava. The achievement was confirmed by J. Patrick Miller, director of the International Astronomical Search Collaboration, in an email sent to the girls.
The asteroid is close to Mars and, according to initial calculations, is expected to cross Earth’s orbit in a million years. Even so, there is no risk, as a cross does not mean a collision.
Generally, it is the discoverer’s honor to name the celestial body. Since this can only be done after NASA confirms the orbit’s orbit, it for the time being retains the provisional name of HLV2514.
Asteroid ndia discovery