Pt Jasraj honored as asteroid is named after him by Astronomical Union

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has named an asteroid after classical singer Pandit Jasraj. It has been named 'Panditjasraj'. The asteroid was discovered on November 11, 2006, and is located between Mars and Jupiter. He's the first Indian musician to receive this honor. 

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Discovery of the asteroid

It was discovered by Mt. Lemmon Survey at Mount Lemmon in Arizona and the right to name an asteroid is given to those who discover it. They have a period of 10 years to decide on a name. The names proposed are judged by the 15-member Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature (CSBN) of the IAU, comprising professional astronomers with research interests in minor planets and/or comets from around the world. It is not yet known who proposed Jasraj's name to the committee.  

The description on the website said, "Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj is an exponent of Indian Classical vocal music. Jasraj is the recipient of numerous awards, honors, and titles including the prestigious Padma Vibhushan and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. His distinctive voice traverses a remarkable four-and-a-half octaves."

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Pandit Jasraj joins a group of a few musicians -  Mozart, Beethoven and Tenor Luciano Pavarotti - who have asteroids named after them. He also joins Viswanathan Anand, Madhav Pathak, Akshat Singhal, Dr Sainudeen Pattazhy and six students who have little planets named after them. Anand had a planet named after him in 2015. Pathak had a planet named after him in 2002 for changing the conventional Braille slate, making writing easier for the visually impaired.

The announcement was made by Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on September 23. A little planet is a term used to refer to a celestial object that is not a planet or comet which orbits the Sun and they are extremely common.

Pandit Jasraj was born in 1930 and he is also known to be a mentor to many well-known musicians. 

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