“It is a near-Earth object (NEO) which is currently near the planet Mars, and over time (~10^6 years) will evolve into an Earth-crossing asteroid,” the post said about the asteroid HLV2514.
Two class 10 students have come across a near-Erath 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,
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.
“We are proud to announce that two Girls from Surat with the help of SPACE-All India Asteroid Search Campaign discovered a new Asteroid which is a Near-Earth Object,” it stated.
The post has received many good wishes and congratulations for the girls. We wish them all the best for more such future discoveries.
