Kuwait University students’ team “Asteroid Hunters” achieved a significant scientific milestone by registering two astronomical discoveries in the name of Kuwait. With support from Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), the team, consisting of Maryam Jamali, Nourah Al-Musaireea and Maraheb Al-Azmi, first spotted these asteroids in Feb 2021. The discoveries will be officially confirmed by the competent authorities in June 2024.

The two new asteroids, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, are currently being studied to demarcate their orbits and include them in the approved global astronomical catalogues of asteroids. The International Union for Astronomical Research, supported by NASA, will offer students the opportunity to give names to the two discovered asteroids as well as a certificate for each asteroid.

“The discovery of the two asteroids came through the employment of the concept of citizen science, as we used astronomical data provided by observatories to amateurs and began to study and analyze astronomical data using specialized programs for four years,” Maryam said. “Although we knew the difficulty of the goal and its length, the team continued to analyze the images and study the data for years, until, praise be to God, we managed to monitor the new celestial bodies,” she explained.

Maryam said after the study, they found the two asteroids are located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and these discoveries were confirmed by the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC). “Our motivation for searching for celestial bodies in the universe stems from our curiosity towards the universe and our belief in the importance of astronomical discoveries and their pivotal role in understanding the nature of the universe,” Maryam told Kuwait Times.

Noura Al-Musairia

She stressed KFAS was the first supporter of the team. “It is the entity that embraced the interests of our team, grew our skills and provided full and continuous support to the team since its inception,” she noted.

Nourah said that the method of discovering asteroids was done through cooperation with the Pan-STARRS observatory, which is interested in scanning the sky and discovering new and faint celestial bodies and obtaining astronomical data. “The team analyzed the data to search for new asteroids according to the standards and characteristics of moving celestial bodies, then wrote an astronomical report and sent it back to the observatory to be verified by specialists in this field,” she said.

Nourah stated that the team’s passion and belief in the importance of space was the main motivation for continuing. “The discovery was not a coincidence. Rather, our work continued for four years, during which we gained many experiences and analyzed a huge amount of astronomical data.” She explained that the first step was making five preliminary discoveries according to the standards of the international federation. “Thankfully, two of them were observed and registered as new discoveries that had not been recorded by the IAU Minor Planet Center archive.”

She said the two asteroids are located between Mars and Jupiter in the main asteroid belt, and the team obtained a certificate proving this discovery. “Our association with the foundation continues to be a great motivation for the continuity of the team and the achievement of our goals, including spreading the culture of astronomical exploration and the ability to reach a larger segment of the public, hobbyists, and those interested in science in general and astronomy in particular,” Nourah said.

Regarding her passion towards astronomy, she said: “My interest in astronomy and space began at a young age. I was very interested in astronomy classes, especially the planets lesson, which was my favorite,” stressing that her passion for astronomy created interest and encouragement from her parents.

“Observing the dark sky increased my interest along with my father, especially during the peak times of meteors,” she said, calling on all students to be encouraged to take serious steps towards science in general and not limiting their knowledge within the given curriculum only. “I also invite them to join the team of Asteroid Hunters and discover new celestial bodies registered in the name of the State of Kuwait,” Nourah added.

“The team participated in one of the citizen science programs for amateur astronomers, which specializes in analyzing astronomical images by observing some telescopes belonging to the University of Hawaii (Pan-STARRS) and sending them to the participants to study and analyze their data,” Maraheb said. “Our passion for astronomy and space was mainly motivated by the discovery of asteroids and was by direct research by analyzing astronomical images,” she added.

Maraheb said KFAS provided them with full support by contributing to the progress of the Asteroid Hunters team and promoting the dissemination of astronomical culture. “We have a lot of interests in various fields, but the most important of which is our interest in astronomy and space since childhood, which continued and developed with time,” she said, inviting all students or those who have a passion for astronomy to participate in KFAS’ astronomical activities and the team of Asteroid Hunters to promote their concept, as well as to spread and develop the astronomical culture in Kuwait.