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An asteroid has been named after Indian professor and eminent scientist Jayant Murthy. He is known for his work in space missions, ultraviolet astronomy, and the interstellar medium. Previously cataloged as 2005 EX296, the asteroid is now designated as (215884) Jayantimurthy.
The announcement was made by a working group of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the authority responsible for naming small objects in the Solar System. India Today informed of.
Asteroid (215884) Jayantimurthy was discovered by MW Bui at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, USA in 2005. It completed a complete orbit around the Sun between Mars and Jupiter every 3.3 years.
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured global attention with its historic flyby of Pluto in 2015, providing previously unseen views and data of the dwarf planet and its moons.
Who is Professor Jayant Murthy?
In 2021, Professor Murthy retired from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA). Since then, he has served as Honorary Professor. He was also the acting director of IIA from July 2018 to October 2019.
Professor Murthy joins NASA’s New Horizons science team, whose observations of UV background radiation have been essential in helping us understand more about cosmic phenomena.
Professor Murthy’s invaluable contribution to the New Horizons mission to study the Far Ultraviolet Background Radiation in the Solar System, where interference from the Sun and interplanetary medium is minimal, is recognized by the name of the asteroid.
Professor Murthy expressed his gratitude on renaming the asteroid, as quoted India Today“In connection with my work on the New Horizons team led by Dr. Alan Stern, I am thrilled to have an asteroid named after me.”
IIA Director Professor Annapurni Subramaniam described the honor as a unique acknowledgment of the global impact of Professor Murthy’s research.
He said Professor Murthy joins a distinguished group of IIA faculty members, which also includes Professors MK Venu Bappu and JC Bhattacharya, both of whom have asteroids named after them.
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Published: March 22, 2024, 05:13 PM IST
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