By Sumit Khanna
AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) – Two teenagers from India discovered a terrestrial asteroid by studying images from the University of Hawaii telescope, an Indian space education institute said Monday.
The asteroid is currently near Mars and its orbit is expected to cross that of Earth in about a million years, said SPACE India, a private institute where the 14-year-old girls received training.
“I hope … when we have a chance to name the asteroid,” Vaidehi Vekariya said, adding that he wants to become an astronaut when he grows up.
The asteroid, currently named HLV2514, can be officially named only after NASA confirms its orbit, a SPACE India spokeswoman said.
Radhika Lakhani, the other student, said she was working hard on her education. “I don’t even have a television at home, so I can focus on my studies.”
Asteroids and comets pose a potential threat to Earth, and scientists discover thousands of them each year. In 2013, a heavier asteroid than the Eiffel Tower exploded over central Russia, leaving more than 1,000 people injured by its blast wave.
The two girls, who hail from the western Indian city of Surat, discovered the object as part of an asteroid search campaign conducted by SPACE India in conjunction with the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), a group of citizen scientists affiliated with NASA.
IASC Director J. Patrick Miller confirmed the discovery, according to an email from him to the girls seen by Reuters.
The girls used specialized software to analyze images taken by the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii and made the discovery in June, SPACE India said.
The institute is among the few private space education initiatives in India, a country known for championing low-cost space technology that has spurred missions to the moon and Mars.
(Written by Sachin Ravikumar; Edited by Gareth Jones)
