New asteroid discovered by UAE's International Astronomical Center

Published August 20th, 2024 - 06:39 GMT
International Astronomical Center
A new asteroid discovered (Shutterstock)

ALBAWABA – The International Astronomical Center (IAC), a scientific official center based in Abu Dhabi, announced the discovery of a new asteroid within our solar system by one of their team members.

Khalfan bin Sultan Al Nuaimi, President of the International Astronomical Center in Abu Dhabi, said the discovery was made through the analysis of images provided by a NASA-supported program in collaboration with international partners, including Hardin-Simmons University in Texas, the Pan-STARRS telescope, and the Catalina Sky Survey project.

International Astronomical Center

2022 UY56, the newly discovered asteroid is said to be located within the asteroid belt in our solar system. (Shutterstock)

Mohammad Shawkat Odeh, Director of the Centre, was able to successfully identify the asteroid while examining images captured by the Pan-STARRS 2 telescope at the Haleakala Observatory. Following the discovery, a preliminary certificate was issued to Odeh, according to the Emirates News Agency (WAM).

2022 UY56

2022 UY56, the newly discovered asteroid is said to be located within the asteroid belt in our solar system. It orbits the sun approximately once every 4 years at a distance of about 375 million km from the sun.

The new asteroid has been temporarily named 2022 UY56. Intensive studies will be conducted to determine the orbit of the new asteroid, subsequently, the International Astronomical Union will officially name it.

Subscribe

Sign up to our newsletter for exclusive updates and enhanced content