NASA names minor planet after Indian zoology professor

NASA has announced it will name a minor planet after a zoology professor from Kerala.

For Sainudeen Pattazhy, it is recognition for some pioneering work he has done in the field of environmental research.

“I was so happy when NASA informed me on Wednesday evening that my name has been selected for naming a minor planet. It’s known as 5178 Pattazhy. Actually, Rajamohan had discovered it in 1989. He proposed my name and NASA accepted it,” Pattazhy said.

Pattazhy became popular for his study on the red rain phenomenon in Kerala in recent years.

He could hardly believe his ears when he was told that an asteroid located somewhere between Mars and Jupiter would bear his name – 5178 Pattazhy.

Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California on Wednesday renamed the main-belt asteroid, discovered by Dr R Rajamohan in 1989, as per the nomenclature convention of the International Astronomical Union.

It rained red in Pattazhy in 2001. Now the village near Kollam has a namesake near the red planet in the solar system. Dr Sainudeen Pattazhy, the environmentalist who made his mark with a pioneering study on the red rain phenomenon in Kerala, never knew he would be instrumental in immortalising his birthplace in space.

The professor’s research proved that the red colour of the rains were due to a geological process and had nothing to do with alien life.

Image Courtesy: http://freedomvideo.org/blog/?p=559

On space science, the doctor said: “Even as a child, I was keen on learning about space. But somewhere I turned to zoology and then environmental science. But I would definitely love to see the planet named after me and my village “

The JPL website says: “Indian environmentalist Sainudeen Pattazhy (b. 1962), senior lecturer on zoology at Kollam Sree Narayana College in Kerala, is known for his research on red rain, the control of mosquitoes, the potential health hazards of mobile phone towers and the ecobiology of sacred groves.”

“Regarding red rain, there was an argument that it was alien presence. But that’s just like science fiction. During 2001-02, peculiar geological situation was prevailing in Kerala like caving in of wells and landslides,” he added.

Pattazhy is the first Indian after the legendary scientist Homi J Baba to get his name stamped on a celestial body.