A 14-year-old boy named Daksh Malik from Noida has found an asteroid and has been recognized by NASA! The asteroid, now called 2023 OG40, was discovered through a fun program called the International Asteroid Discovery Project (IADP). Once NASA finishes checking the details, Daksh will get to pick a special name for it, which might take about five years.
How It All Started
Daksh, who studies in Class 9 at Shiv Nadar School, developed a love for space by watching cool documentaries on National Geographic about planets and the solar system. He said, “I’ve loved space since I was a kid. Watching those shows felt like magic!”
Joining the Discovery Project
In 2022, Daksh and some of his friends joined the IADP, a program linked to NASA that allows students to help discover new asteroids. Every year, around 6,000 people join this exciting project, but only a few make important discoveries!
How Daksh Discovered the Asteroid
The participants downloaded special data from NASA and used simple software to look for moving objects in the sky. They had to track these objects and see if they were bright enough to be asteroids. Daksh enjoyed the challenge and said, “When I was searching for asteroids, I felt like I was working at NASA!”
After 18 months of hard work, he found an asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Naming the Asteroid
Daksh will get to suggest a permanent name for the asteroid after NASA confirms his discovery. He jokingly said he might call it “Destroyer of the World” or “Countdown,” which could sound cool and a bit scary.
Even with this amazing achievement, Daksh mostly wants to study law and the justice system. His mom, Sappna Kapur, said, “Daksh is more interested in the journey and learning about space than just the final results.”
His teacher, Vinita Sarahat, who leads STEM programs at the school, pointed out how it’s important for kids to learn in real-life situations. She said, “Getting top scores in math and science is great, but learning by doing is where the real fun is!”
Daksh has participated in the IADP three times and has sent six asteroid observations to NASA. Once these observations are checked and confirmed, they become provisional asteroids.
Thanks to his school, he has lots of cool resources, like their own observatory. This is where he spent hours looking at stars
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