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New society at UP takes it shot with Asteroid Research project
from 17 April 2023 Issue 4 Year 85
by PDBY - Official student newspaper of the University of Pretoria
Micaela Liebenberg
On 31 March, the Astronomy Department of Blue Crane Space, with Department Coordinator Keketso Qhomane, had their first training session for The International Astronomical Search Collaboration Asteroid Research Project. The research project collaborates with PACSel and takes part in the International Asteroid Search Campaign. PDBY investigates further.
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What is PACSel?
PACsel, the Pan – African Citizen Science eLab, is an organisation based in Abuja, Nigeria, that spans over more than 35 African countries. The founder and coordinator, Miracle Chibuzor Marcel, conducts the Asteroid Search Program that forms part of the Asteroid Search Initiative. “Marcel is the one who reached out to me via Linkedin,” said Qhomane, “this is a collaboration of astronomy and astrophysics teams across the African continent coming together under the umbrella of PACsel.”
More about the research
The research is a continent-wide coordination and is conducted by IASC, the International Astronomical Search Collaboration. It is a NASA partnered initiative under the Planetary Defence programme and students partaking in this initiative will be using the Astrometrica to conduct their research. Astrometrica is a software tool that is used to measure minor bodies in the solar system such as asteroids. It reveals a large amount of useful information and is suitable for both beginner and advanced observers
Keketso Qhomane, a student at UP studying Bsc Geoinformatics, will be administering as team coordinator between Blue Crane Space and IASC while the research takes place from 13 to 17 April. He will be representing Blue Crane Space, a society in UP founded to cater students interested in engineering, physics, pure mathematics, chemistry, and astrophysics.
Why is Planetary Defence research important?
“Research of near-earth objects happens to be an area of interest in NASA to prevent any instances of asteroids colliding with the earth” said Qhomane when asked why IASC is pursuing an interest in this particular research, “instead of confining it to academics of professionals working at NASA, the Planetary Defence Program decided to partner with IASC to cast its net wide and involve many people interested in astronomy and astrophysics.”
Is UP a good place to start?
Qhomane believes that the University of
