“COLOMBOUNILANKA”, an Asteroid Named After University of Colombo

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) formally named an asteroid after the University of Colombo on March 21, 2022. Dr Nalin Samarasinha, a University of Colombo alumnus, and Dr Tod Lauer, a fellow astronomer, found this asteroid in 2000 from the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, USA. The asteroid was recently given the number 607372 and the discoverers were given official discovery credit once its orbit was thoroughly established.

A numbered asteroid’s discoverers are allowed to name it according to a set of rules. Following these standards, the IAU designated the asteroid “Colombounilanka.” This is the first time a scientist of Sri Lankan descent has been given credit for naming an asteroid. Only a few institutions throughout the world have asteroids named after them, and the University of Colombo is now one of them.

Colombounilanka is a 1-2 kilometer asteroid located in the middle of our Solar System’s asteroid belt. As a result, it is never on the verge of colliding with Earth and is always more than 1.4 astronomical units (i.e. more than 210 million kilometers) away. In a slightly elliptical orbit, Colombounilanka takes 4.2 years to complete a full round around the sun. Only a strong telescope will be able to observe this asteroid.

Dr. Samarasinha stated he named the asteroid after the University of Colombo, which recently celebrated its centennial, in honor of the university’s contributions to higher education, as a tribute to his university lecturers, and as an inspiration to the future generation of students in Sri Lanka.

In a special message Prof. Chandrika Wijeyrathne, Vice Chancellor of University of Colombo congratulated the team of scientists behind this discovery and thanked them for taking the name of the university to a remarkable height.

“This story of our university “joining the cosmos” has brought home two fundamental facts, viz. what an amazingly humble, professional, capable and committed group forms our UoC community when reaching such astounding heights, and the wonderful tribute paid to his alma mater by our reputed alumnus. Most importantly, our future generations can be greatly inspired by such gratifying stories of value-added education that paves the way for even more discoveries by such true sons and daughters of Lanka.” Prof Chandrika stated in her message.