Mysore/Mysuru: The Cosmology Education and Research Training Centre (COSMOS), Mysuru, is facilitating an asteroid search campaign where students get to work on actual data from the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii in collaboration with  Hands-on Universe, India.

The campaign is part of the International Asteroid Search Campaign conducted by the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC). Students and interested people will be given datasets of photographs taken by the telescope to analyse and train on how to report them.

In the case of a discovery, the students’/volunteers’ names will be listed as part of the preliminary discoveries. There will be further observations over a few years. If confirmed, the student/team who discovered it will be allowed to name the asteroid.

All participants will receive a certificate endorsed by IHOU, IASC, PanSTARRS and NASA on successful completion. Participation is free. Anyone interested in Astronomy and meets the requirements as mentioned below may apply before Aug. 5:

1. A student/volunteer must be 13+ years old. 2. The students/volunteers are expected to have a personal laptop or desktop. 3. Internet Accessibility. 4. Basic Computer Skills.

Registration Link: https://bit.ly/asteroid_search, according to a press release from N. Amoghavarsha, Project Associate-I: COSMOS, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Mysuru. For more details, contact: The COSMOS Office, Vijnana Bhavan, Manasagangothri, Mysuru or e-mail: [email protected].