Asteroids Named After Indian Musicians

Hi readers! You all knew about Asteroid as learned already in your school days. Asteroids are the minor planet which is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

As the title says, “Asteroids named after Indian musicians”, wondering what’s that mean?! Among many asteroids discovered, two were named after Indian musicians. Do you want to know who they are? Come let’s see!

Indian Classical Vocalist

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has named an asteroid, discovered on 11th November 2006, after Indian classical singer Pandit Jasraj.

Pandit Jasraj is an Indian Classical Vocalist, was born on 28th January 1930 in British Punjab and is associated with the Mewati Gharana of Hindustani classical music. He taught music in India, Canada and the USA.

More than 80 years of a musical career led to achieving numerous major awards like the Padma Vibhushan and Sangeet Natak Academy Award and is known for being a mentor to many well-known musicians. His classical and semi-classical vocals have become film soundtracks and album.

Indian Classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj (89) now has an asteroid, or minor planet, named after him, first Indian (male) musician to receive this honour. The International Astronomical Union(IAU) has approved the name 'Pandit Jasraj' for the rocky object 2006VP32 (number 300128), discovered in November 2006. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 27 August 2019.

Indian Classical Sitarist

Italian amateur astronomer, Vincenzo Silvano Casulli, has named an asteroid, discovered on 12th November 2006, after an Indian Sitarist and composer, Anoushka Shankar.

Anoushka was born in London and her childhood was divided between London and Delhi. She is the daughter of Sukanya Shankar and Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, who was 61 when she was born.

She was nominated many times for the Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary World Music Category. In February 2006 she became the first Indian to play at the Grammy Awards, playing material from ‘RISE’. She was awarded Woman of the Year on International Women's Day 2003 in India.

Vincenzo Silvano Casulli was an Italian amateur astronomer and a discoverer of 192 minor planets at his Vallemare di Borbona Observatory (A55) in Lazio. Asteroid 292872 Anoushankar, discovered by him was named after an Indian Sitarist and composer, Anoushka Shankar. The first Indian (female) musician to receive this honor. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 12 January 2017.

Reason For Assigning Their Names?

According to International Space Convention, anyone who discovers a planet has the right to name it.

Asteroid, 2006 VP32, was found at Mount Lemmon in the United States by the Arizona-based Catalina Sky Survey on November 11, 2006. But it is not known who exactly proposed Pt. Jasraj's name to the IAU. His distinctive voice traverses remarkable four and a half octave. The number assigned to the asteroid, 300128, is Pt. Jasraj's birth date in reverse order (28/01/30).

An Italian astronomer, Vincenzo Silvano Casulli, had named an asteroid after Anoushka, daughter of the late sitar exponent Ravi Shankar. As minor planet discoveries are confirmed by the IAU’s Minor Planet Center(MPC), the asteroid named after Anoushka Shankar, known as Asteroid 292872 Anoushankar, as Silvano Casulli was an enormous fan of her music, he named it after her name.

Along with Johann Bach, Rabindranath Tagore, and other classical musicians include Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luciano Pavarotti to have minor planets named after them.

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