Aswin Sekhar: !free!
π‘ Dr. Sekhar often explains that for every one orbit a Perseid particle makes, Jupiter completes 10 revolutions and Saturn completes 4. This specific ratio is the "secret sauce" behind some of our brightest meteor displays.
: By mapping the trajectories of meteoroid streams, Sekhar helps assess collision risks with Earth and ensures the safety of satellites and spacecraft from high-speed dust particles. Celestial Honour: (33928) Aswinsekhar
Dr. Sekharβs scientific niche involves predicting how dust, rock fragments, and debris discarded by comets and asteroids travel through space. His work sits at the intersection of observation, historical astronomy, and heavy computational physics. Gender gap in astronomical sciences - Nature aswin sekhar
: He earned his Master of Science degree from VIT University, Tamil Nadu, in 2007. He followed this with an M.Phil in Nuclear Physics from Christ University, Bangalore, emerging as the 2009 batch topper.
While Einstein's general relativity is frequently applied to massive bodies like black holes or planets, Dr. Sekhar pioneered models evaluating on minuscule meteoroid orbits. This degree of precision ensures hyper-accurate long-term forecasting for meteor showers and potential deep-space collisions. 3. Tracking Comet Halley and the Orionids π‘ Dr
He advocates for equipping every Indian school with a basic telescope (costing roughly βΉ10,000ββΉ15,000) to spark early interest in astronomy.
However, the decisive spark came in 1998. A 13-year-old Aswin was encouraged by Krishna Warrier, an Additional Director at the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), to watch the spectacular Leonid meteor storm. This experience was transformative. It turned a childhood fascination into a lifelong mission to understand the small celestial bodies that streak across our sky, from comets and asteroids to the meteor showers that enchant stargazers. : By mapping the trajectories of meteoroid streams,
He discovered how giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn act as a "clockwork mechanism," using their gravity to cluster meteor particles and create spectacular meteor storms.
In 2023, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) named a minor planet '33928 Aswinsekhar'