Indian boy shines bright!
Imagine being able to name an asteroid! It might sound like a movie, but for one student in India, it’s about to come true.
Daksh Malik, a 9th-grade student from Shiv Nadar School in Noida, India, discovered an asteroid! This asteroid is in space, between Mars and Jupiter. NASA has even recognised his discovery.
Daksh found the asteroid through a program called the International Asteroid Discovery Project (IADP). He used special software from NASA to look for asteroids in space.
After working hard for over a year, Daksh sent his findings to NASA. They checked and said, “Yes! You discovered an asteroid!” They gave it the name “2023 OG40” for now, but the kid will get to choose its official name.
About International Asteroid Discovery Project.
The IADP is a program that lets students like Daksh Malik, discover new asteroids. Using NASA’s data, they search for tiny objects in space that could be asteroids. Many people try to make discoveries every year, but only a few succeed.
Participants download data and use special software to study it. They look for objects that move in space and check if the light they give off matches an asteroid’s pattern.
When will the naming process take place?
Daksh Malik is excited to choose a name for the asteroid. He has two ideas: “Destroyer of the World” or “Countdown.” But he will have to wait a few years. NASA takes about five years to give the asteroid its final name.
It’s amazing to think that a student from India will soon name an asteroid! Maybe one day, you could discover one too!
