1 Malayali, 3 other Indian scientists have minor planets named after them

Four Indians, including a 38-year-old Malayali man, have had minor planets named in their honour by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The four newly named planets are Ashokverma, Kumar, Rutuparekh, and Aswinsekhar, according to the most recent bulletin of the Working Group Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN), a working group of the International Astronomical Union. Aswin Sekhar, a 38-year-old native of Palakkad, is the group's only Malayali. He is an astronomer that works for the Paris Observatory, which is run by the French government, and he is credited with finding the asteroid 2000LJ27, the News Minute reported.

According to the WGSBN bulletin, Aswin is the first professional meteor astronomer from India in modern times. “He has made important contributions to the field of meteors in meteoroid stream dynamics, particularly in the effects of relativity and resonances in meteoroid streams,” it says.

Indian astrophysicist Ashok Kumar Verma was also recognised by the IAU. Indian astronomer Kumar Venkataramani works at CalTech and specialises in spectroscopic investigations of comets and asteroids. An Indian planetary scientist named Rutu Parekh specialises in comprehending the surface evolution of icy asteroids and satellites.

According to a report, five planetary bodies have been named after Indians before this — nobel laureates Subramanya Chandrasekhar and CV Raman, mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, space scientist Vikram Sarabhai, and astronomer Manali Kallat Vainu Bappu.

Its goal is to advance and safeguard the science of astronomy in all of its facets, including research, communication, education, and development. The IAU is an international association of astronomers. Additionally, it gives celestial bodies names.