Two class 10 girls discover asteroid, NASA confirms
Two class 10 students have come across a near-Earth asteroid which has now been named HLV2514 by NASA. The incredible discovery by the two girls from Surat — Vaidehi Vekariya Sanjaybhai and Radhika Lakhani Prafulbhai — took place as a part of an international campaign.
The 2-month science programme being held at their CBSE school — PP Savani Chaitanya Vidya Sankul ended up with the young students discovering the asteroid near the planet Mars.
NASA acknowledged their rare find and sent across a confirmation mail for the same.
What kind of science program was that?
The two-month science programme that these girls took part in was conducted by Space India in collaboration with International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) and Hardin Simmons University in Texas.
The students used the Pan Starrs advanced telescope in Hawaii which has high-grade CCD cameras, and a higher field of view for their asteroid discovery.
Space India issued a “discovery alert” on Facebook on Friday to inform people about the discovery.