In a rare honour, a minor planet located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter has been named after doted 89-year-old Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj. The international body with authority in all things astronomy, the International Astronomical Union (IAU), has named the minor planet 'Panditjasraj (300128)' following its discovery more than a decade ago on 11 November 2006.
Minor planets are celestial objects in our solar system that orbit the Sun but aren't planets or comets. These include dwarf planets, asteroids, trojans, centaurs, Kuiper belt objects and the like. The minor planet in question, which technically goes by '2006 VP32' in the astronomy community, was spotted by a NASA-funded project called the Catalina Sky Survey, which tracks and discovers near-earth objects. Panditjasraj was discovered by the Mt Lemmon Survey telescope in Arizona. The number 300128 is derived from Jasraj’s date of birth 28 January 1930.
Pandit Jasraj in concert at the Golden Voice Golden Years.
With the honour, the Padma Vibhushan-winning musician Pandit Jasraj has become the first musician from India to join the starry sky of immortal composers like Beethoven, Mozart and Pavarotti.
"Blessed... in this honour one can experience only god's grace," the Pandit told PTI from the US.
"It was made official by IAU on 23 September, followed by a citation," Durga Jasraj, his daughter, told PTI.
Several minor planets have rings around them. Image: Astronomy Now
"Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj is an exponent of Indian classical vocal music. A life dedicated to music, Jasraj is the recipient of many awards, honours and titles. His distinctive voice traverses remarkable four and a half octave," the citation reads.
With inputs from PTI
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