Rajasthan students discover new asteroid 2024BA20

Four students from a government school in Rajasthan have discovered a new asteroid. The asteroid was found during a program called the Asteroid Search Campaign-2024. This campaign is run by the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC). The asteroid has been given the provisional name 2024BA20. The students who discovered it are Mohit Sharma, Mohit Porwal, Jatin Javarani, and Vivek Soni. They will be able to name the asteroid after its orbit is completed. They will also track its position using NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab website. These Class 12 science students participated in the campaign in January 2024, guided by their teacher Divyendu Sen. The discovery was recognized after the students analyzed images from a telescope in Hawaii using a software called Astrometrica. The principal of their school, Farnish Kumar Vijay, expressed pride in the students' achievement. He noted that only select asteroids among many identified each year receive official discovery status. Over the past four years, government school students in Jhalawar have discovered 11 asteroids through similar campaigns. Yogesh Kumar Joshi, a trainer with IASC, highlighted the growing interest in asteroid search campaigns among students in India. He stated that the campaign aims to inspire research in students in remote areas. Overall, this achievement marks important progress in science education in rural regions.