This asteroid was just named in honor of an Indian working at NASA

In yet another proud moment for India, Rutu Parekh, a planetary geologist from Gujarat, and three other scientists were honored for their achievements. Rutu Parekh had an an asteroid named after her – Asteroid 2000HD73 is has been renamed as “Rutu Parekh”, Times of India reported.

Parekh had completed her BSC from St. Xavier’s College in Biochemistry and Chemistry. She did her M.Sc. from Canter for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT University) in Geomatics and Remote Sensing. Furthermore, she completed her M.Sc. – Earth Science Thesis focusing on Martian volcanism and surface geomorphology from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. And now she is working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a post-doctoral researcher at NASA (USA).

Kumar Venkatramani, another scientist from Ahmedabad has also received similar recognition as Asteroid 2000SM362 has been renamed as “Kumar” in his honor. Kumar had done his Ph.D. from IIT- Gandhinagar.

A total of four Indian scientists have been honored. The working small bodies Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) is responsible for naming celestial objects. On june 22, IAU renamed 198 celestial objects in honor of scientists who contributed to the astrophysics of which four scientists are Indian.

Rutu Parekh, in an email response to TOI, said, “As a planetary scientist, it will open doors for many more research opportunities to enhance my knowledge, skills, and expertise.”

Kumar Venkatramani also told ToI, “It will surely inspire me to achieve more in the field I love.”

Along with Rutu Parekh and Kumar Venkatramani, Aswin Sekhar and Ashok Verma were also included in the list of 198 scientists who were honored with the recognition.

What is an Asteroid?

According to NASA, Asteroids are also known as minor planets which are relatively small, inactive, rocky bodies orbiting the sun. These celestial bodies exist as remnants from the early development of our solar system roughly 4.6 billion years ago, characterized by their airless nature.

The current known asteroid count is 1,298,053. As per NASA reports.