Turkey's first asteroid discovery comes from a 14-year-old

The Asteroid Search Project, conducted within the framework of the NASA-supported International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), has achieved a historic success in Turkey. 14-year-old Ömer Selim Esen, a student at the Düzce Science and Art Center (BİLSEM) who has been actively participating in the project since its inception, and his advisor teacher Ayşe Karaul Arslan have discovered Turkey's first asteroid. This discovery, made at the end of campaigns organized in partnership with the IASC, also marks the first time a team from Turkey has discovered a celestial body in the Solar System.

INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

The Minor Planet Center (MPC), affiliated with the International Astronomical Union, assigned the catalog number 719840 to the discovered asteroid. Furthermore, the team responsible for this discovery was granted the right to name the asteroid. Ömer Selim Esen and Ayşe Karaul Arslan came together with Düzce BİLSEM students and named the asteroid “Bilsem Düzce.” Thus, the asteroid has now entered the international literature under the name “(719840) Bilsemduzce.”

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT AND ASTRONOMY FESTIVAL

The official announcement of the discovery was made on October 12, 2024, as part of the 1st Astronomy Festival held at the Rami Library. The announcement was made by H. Aziz Kayıhan, one of the founders of the Asteroid Search Project, and the teacher who made the discovery, Ayşe Karaul Arslan. Many participants and astronomy enthusiasts gathered at the festival.

WHAT IS THE ASTEROID SEARCH PROJECT?

The Asteroid Search Project was launched in 2017 with the slogan “Turkey Searches for its Asteroid.” The goal of the project is to offer middle and high school students in Turkey the opportunity to discover asteroids by examining real astronomical images. Over the last 7 years, sky images obtained from the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii via the IASC have been delivered to more than 2,500 students in over 300 institutions across Turkey.

Asteroid discovery campaigns are conducted with data provided to students from the last quarter phase to the first quarter phase of each month. Under the guidance of their advisor teachers, students analyze the data they obtain using the Astrometrica program to detect asteroids and report their findings. The observation reports prepared are sent to the Minor Planet Center (MPC). After it is confirmed that the detected asteroid is an unknown object, professional astronomers calculate the orbital parameters of the asteroid in detail for the discovery to be formalized. This process can take 3 to 10 years depending on the asteroid's orbit.

Ömer Selim Esen and his Advisor Teacher Ayşe Karaul Arslan: