Calif. students discover three asteroidsMarch 25th, 2007 in Astronomy & Space / Space Exploration
Six students from Cordova High School in California recently discovered three new asteroids through the International Asteroid Search Campaign.
Through their involvement in the educational campaign, the students from Rancho Cordova found the asteroids in February and now the celestial bodies have been confirmed by the Harvard University Minor Planet Center, the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee reported.
The students' astronomy teacher, Glenn Reagan, said he was proud of his students' hard work.
"I'm proud they were able to find them and that they have the good work ethic to be able to find them," he said.
While some of the students have proposed more intriguing names, the asteroids have been tabbed KO7D84U, KO7C54Q and KO7D84W.
The Bee said that the students were able to identify the asteroids through the use of computer software entitled Astrometrica, that shows daily images of astronomical bodies in motion.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
"Calif. students discover three asteroids." March 25th, 2007. http://phys.org/news94024676.html