Students at a state school in Belém, Pará, found what could be a new asteroid. Through the “Asteroid Hunt” project, students participated in analysis of celestial bodies and identified a possible rocky body that will be analyzed by NASA.
The discovery was widely celebrated by the entire team at the Honorato Filgueiras State School, located in Bethlehem, in the district of Mosqueiro. The result of the initial analysis has already been forwarded to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI).
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Subsequently, the NASA issue the result of the official analysis of the material found. If the celestial body really is an asteroid, students will be invited to present the discovery in the United States.
The action and motivation of the student team reinforced the power of science initiatives in schools. The Secretary of State for Education, Rossieli Soares, stated that this educational proposal was proof that Pará has students and professionals who only need opportunities.
“Hunting Asteroids” is a NASA program in partnership with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). This program provides images from the telescopes so that the teams can analyze the celestial bodies.
In the case of the Pará school, the data received were images collected by the telescope from the University of Hawaii. In all, 24 image packages were received for analysis and identification.
The team at the Honorato Filgueiras school is made up of six 1st year high school students. The students carried out searches in various materials collected by the telescope.
In this way, they found a possible asteroid that was temporarily named “LUI0005” in honor of the student Luís Felipe, who made the discovery.
The results of the scientific discovery are already being analyzed by NASA and the MCTI. The entire verification and validation process of the material found can take from two to five years.
For Professor Hélio Júnior, who coordinated the team, the discovery is a source of pride and shows the potential of students at the public school in Pará. “The students are all very euphoric with the works we produced during this period, and that fills us with pride”, said the professor.