Two Surat Class X girls have made their own trailblazing, once-in-a-lifetime discovery by detecting an asteroid. Two 14-year-old girls from PP Savani Chaitanya Vidhya Sankul, named Vaidehi Vekariya and Radhika Lakhni, discovered an asteroid which has now been christened as HLV2514 by NASA upon confirmation, reported Times of India.
The asteroid also has the potential of crossing the earth some day.?
The duo trains for astronomical studies at an institute named SPACE. NASA sent a confirmation mail about the girls' rare discovery.?
The students spotted the asteroid during a study as part of the All India Asteroid Search Campaign (AIASC) of International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), which is an outreach programme of NASA for space research.?
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In an email to the institute, the IASC director, Dr Patrick Miller, stated, 'In the last campaign, your team reported HLV2514 as a new asteroid. It is, in fact, a near-Earth object (NEO). This NEO is near the planet Mars, and over time (~10^6 years) will evolve into an Earth-crossing asteroid. Mars-crossing asteroids are called Amors. Earth-crossing asteroids are called Apollos. Congratulations!!'
Miller is a professor of mathematics at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene in Texas, and the girls are overjoyed not only with their discovery but at being recognized too.?
¡°We had tagged around 20 objects of which this one proved lucky. We have given it a random name at present and we may get an opportunity to name the asteroid once its orbit is confirmed by NASA. It may, however, take a few years¡¯ time,¡± duo told TOI.?
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Vaidehi's father is in the textile business, while Radhika's father is in the business of computer peripherals. Vaidehi's family hails from Bhavnagar while Radhika's family is from Amreli district.?
Akash Dwivedi, educator at SPACE said, "It is the first time in Gujarat and after four years in the country that an asteroid has been discovered."?
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Due to the ongoing coronavirus-induced pandemic, the entire study process was from home.?
A big shout out to these young girls who have made the country proud with their discovery and earning a name for themselves on an international level. Keep up the good work!