𝑨𝒏 𝑨𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒐

For the first time, a scientist of Sri Lankan origin has received the discovery credit to an asteroid. The University of Colombo alumnus, Dr. Nalin Samarasinha and Dr. Todd Lauer discovered this asteroid in 2000. On March 21, 2022, the International Astronomical Union(IAU) officially announced this asteroid as ” Colombounilanka ” to honor the University of Colombo.
“Colombounilanka” which can only be seen with a powerful telescope is a 1-2 km size asteroid in the mid-region of the asteroid belt in our solar system. It takes 4.2 years to make a full journey around the sun.
According to Dr. Samarasinha, he decided to name that asteroid in recognition of the university’s contribution to higher education, as a tribute to his teachers at the university and for the inspiration to the next generation of students.

Captioned by: Menuka Jayalath
Designed by: Anjalee Sandathara

References:
[1] https://cmb.ac.lk/asteroid-colombounilanka/