Birthday telescope fuels an 11-year-old Indian’s asteroid detections
An 11-year-old Indian student, Atharv Sood, earned three preliminary asteroid detections during Phase I of the All-India Asteroid Search Campaign 2026 as part of Satya School’s Young Scientist Program. Trained with SPACE India and IASC and using Astrometrica to compare images, he identified objects moving across frames, a milestone that sparked deeper curiosity in space science. His birthday telescope fueled his interest, and he now hopes to pursue space work at ISRO or NASA, carrying forward a careful, questioning approach rather than seeking praise.