Discovering an asteroid was a different kind of good news for third-year University of Pretoria business management student Rorisang Mahomo.
The 20-year-old has been credited with a provisional asteroid detection that has been catalogued in the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Minor Planet Center (MPC) database.
She said receiving confirmation that her discovery — provisionally named “Main Belt Asteroid 2023 QY50” — had been recognised in the MPC’s database has her feeling “truly happy and in shock”.
“Knowing that I discovered a celestial body is a different kind of good news. This discovery is significant to me as I am not an astronomy student, I am studying business management, but I have love for the field of astronomy. Over the next three to five years further observation will be performed to determine the asteroid orbit and trajectory and gather more data on it,” Mahomo, who hails from Lesotho, said.
According to Mahomo, the reality sunk in when her phone started buzzing non-stop from Lesotho media trying to contact her.
“It feels unreal.”
It took a whole minute for me to process the news; thinking about how big of a deal this was and that I actually contributed to space science and created new research for scientists. I am truly honoured and overwhelmed. Not only have I made myself and my family proud, but the nation of Lesotho, too,” Mahomo said.
— Rorisang Mahomo
Mahomo’s interest in astronomy started when she took a school trip to a planetarium in Bloemfontein.
“Seeing planets, stars, galaxies and the solar system intrigued me, and my passion for astronomy started then. In 2023, during campaign week on campus, I saw a gazebo with a telescope and space art, and I knew that’s where I have to be. Their posters had words like physics, chemistry, astronomy and mathematics, and I said only people in STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics] were eligible to join. However, when I asked if someone like me from EMS could join, they warmly said yes and that we would learn while in the society.”
Mahomo’s discovery was made possible by Blue Crane Space's (BCS) participation in the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) asteroid search, an initiative of NASA’s Planetary Defence programme.
BCS chairperson Keketso Qhomane said BCS aims to foster innovative ideas among university students and is also a platform for non-BSc students to gain more experience in astronomy and broader science topics in proportion to their relative fields.
The asteroid-search campaign Mahomo participated in took place from August to September 2023.
The IASC provides software and high-resolution astronomical images from professional observatories to citizen scientists around the world, who use the software to analyse the images in search of objects that could be asteroids.
Mahomo said she downloaded the data sets on September 2 2023 and immediately started searching using the Astrometrica programme.
“I identified a movement that matched the description provided by the IASC, and that was the first thing that gave me a bit of certainty that it might be one, even before going deeper into the technical process. I submitted my report [to the IASC via the Minor Planet Center] that same night,” she said.
A week after the conclusion of the August/September 2023 campaign, the IASC sent a file listing all the preliminary discoveries of that search campaign and Mahomo’s discovery was on the list.
Just over a year later, on October 29, she received a confirmatory certificate from the IASC, including the provisional name for her asteroid: 2023 QY50.
She explained that she had just finished working on one of her assignments and was ready to go to bed when she received the news.
“The excitement was immeasurable. The first thing I did was to thank God for such an honour! And I quickly called my family to join in the excitement.”
She was in disbelief after receiving the news. “It took a whole minute for me to process the news; thinking about how big of a deal this was and that I actually contributed to space science and created new research for scientists. I am truly honoured and overwhelmed. Not only have I made myself and my family proud, but the nation of Lesotho, too,” Mahomo said.
Prof Chris Theron of the physics department in UP’s natural and agricultural sciences (NAS) faculty applauded Mahomo, Qhomane and the BCS for encouraging collaborative research across schools and disciplines.
“It is heartening to receive the news of Keketso, BCS and Rorisang’s achievements. Their collaboration and success will hopefully inspire students across the country to take part in exciting initiatives like asteroid search programmes. Every contribution of time and effort can lead to discoveries that expand the boundaries of our collective knowledge. Well done, team!”
A part-time lecturer in UP’s physics department who served in an advisory role to the BCS, Heystek Grobler, said Mahomo’s remarkable achievement in discovering the asteroid is a shining example of what passion and interdisciplinary collaboration can achieve.
“I am thrilled to see the profound impact of Blue Crane Space, an exceptional student-led initiative, in fostering such breakthroughs. The support and opportunities provided by BCS have been instrumental in empowering students like Rorisang to make a significant contribution to space science. Bravo, Rorisang and BCS, you make us proud!” he said.
As the person who discovered it, Qhomane said Mahomo will be allowed to rename 2023 QY50 further down the line.
“Rorisang’s discovery has been named a provisional asteroid detection, which means the MPC recognises it as a potential asteroid discovery, but requires additional observations,” he said.
Mahomo, who is set to graduate in April/May 2025, is considering giving the asteroid her name.
“Scientists usually name their discoveries and theories after themselves, so I think it would be iconic for me to name my first discovery after myself to honour one of my biggest achievements,” she said.
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