I would love to see every school and college equipped with a telescope
On a Sunday afternoon in Koottanad, India's first professional meteor scientist Aswin Sekhar addressed a gathering of young students with a message that reaches far beyond any single career: the rocks that fall from space are not merely curiosities, and the science of stopping them is among the most consequential work a civilization can undertake. Sekhar, who works from the Paris Observatory and had a minor planet named in his honor by the International Astronomical Union in 2023, used his rare distinction not as a trophy but as a mirror — reflecting back to India the gap that once existed, and the larger void that still remains. His call is for telescopes in every school, for a generation equipped to look upward with purpose, and for a country to build the human infrastructure that planetary defence — and perhaps human survival — will one day require.
- India has produced only one professional meteor scientist in modern times, a silence that Sekhar treats not as a point of pride but as a warning about how much ground remains to be covered.
- The threat posed by near-Earth objects is real and statistically inevitable on long timescales, yet most young Indians encounter astronomy only through textbooks, never through a lens pointed at the sky.
- Sekhar is pushing for telescopes to become as standard in Indian schools as chemistry equipment — arguing that you cannot cultivate expertise in a field students have never actually seen.
- The IAU's naming of minor planet (33928) Aswinsekhar in 2023 made him only the sixth Indian so honored, a distinction that quietly measures how underrepresented the country remains in this branch of science.
- His broader argument is structural: a nation that wants to contribute to planetary defence must first build the researchers, engineers, and institutions capable of doing so — and that construction begins in classrooms.
Aswin Sekhar arrived at a student gathering in Koottanad on a Sunday with a subject that has defined his working life: the study of space rocks, and the science of ensuring they do not end ours. He is India's first professional meteor scientist — a title that speaks as much to an absence as to an achievement — and he now works from the Paris Observatory as a globally recognized authority on meteoroid streams and near-Earth objects.
His message to the students was unambiguous. Planetary defence is not science fiction. It is among the most urgent scientific pursuits available to the next generation, with stakes that are, in the most literal sense, existential. In 2023, the International Astronomical Union named a minor planet after him — (33928) Aswinsekhar — placing him among only six Indians ever to receive that distinction. But Sekhar did not linger on the honor. He turned instead to what is missing.
He called for telescopes in every Indian school and college, arguing that astronomy cannot be built from textbooks alone. Students need to see what they are studying. Without that access, curiosity has nowhere to go, and expertise never forms. The gap between reading about the cosmos and looking at it through an eyepiece is, he suggested, the same gap that separates a country with one meteor scientist from a country with many.
The deeper argument is about infrastructure. A strong astronomy education system produces not just enthusiasts but researchers and engineers capable of contributing to India's space program and to global planetary science. Sekhar's own path — from Palakkad to Paris, from meteor dynamics to international recognition — demonstrates what becomes possible when talent finds opportunity. His hope is to help build a world where that combination is far less rare.
Aswin Sekhar stood before a room of students in Koottanad on a Sunday afternoon, speaking about the work that has consumed his career: the study of rocks falling from space, and how humanity might one day need to stop them. He is India's first professional meteor scientist, a distinction that carries weight precisely because it took so long for the country to produce one. Now, working from the Paris Observatory in France, he has become a globally recognized authority on meteoroid streams and near-Earth objects—the technical language for asteroids and comets whose orbits bring them close to our planet.
Sekhar's message to the students gathered at the Bharat Youth Club event was direct: this field matters, and India needs more people working in it. Planetary defence—the science of detecting and potentially deflecting dangerous space objects—is not a distant concern or the province of science fiction. It is, he argued, among the most consequential scientific pursuits available to the next generation. The stakes are existential. The work is urgent.
The recognition he has received underscores both his achievement and the rarity of it. In 2023, the International Astronomical Union named a minor planet after him: (33928) Aswinsekhar. It was an honor that placed him in a small and distinguished group—only the sixth Indian ever to have a celestial body named in their recognition. The IAU's formal designation of him as India's first professional meteor astronomer in modern times is not ceremonial language. It is a statement of fact about a gap that existed, and that he filled.
But Sekhar's concern at the Koottanad event was not primarily about his own accomplishments. He spoke instead about infrastructure and access. He called for Indian schools and colleges to invest in telescopes the way they invest in chemistry labs and physics equipment. Every institution, he suggested, should have one. The logic is simple: you cannot build expertise in a field if students have no way to see what they are studying. Astronomy remains, for most young Indians, something read about in textbooks rather than experienced through an eyepiece.
His argument extends beyond individual curiosity. A robust astronomy education system produces not just hobbyists but researchers, engineers, and scientists capable of contributing to India's space program and to global efforts in planetary science. It builds the human infrastructure that allows a country to participate meaningfully in the kind of work that might, someday, matter for human survival. Right now, that infrastructure is thin. Sekhar is calling for it to be built.
The scientist's own path—from Palakkad to the Paris Observatory, from studying meteor dynamics to becoming a recognized expert in near-Earth objects—suggests what is possible when talent meets opportunity. But his message to students was less about replicating his individual journey and more about creating the conditions where many such journeys become possible. He wants to see a generation of Indian scientists engaged with the cosmos, equipped with both knowledge and tools, ready to contribute to one of humanity's most pressing scientific challenges.
Notable Quotes
Educational institutions should create more opportunities for young people to explore astronomy and space sciences, with every school and college equipped with telescopes as they are with laboratories for other subjects.— Aswin Sekhar
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When you say planetary defence is critical, what specifically are we defending against?
Near-Earth objects—asteroids and comets whose orbits bring them close to us. Most are harmless, but some could pose a genuine threat. The work is about detection, tracking, and understanding whether and how we might deflect one if necessary.
And India's role in this is currently what?
Limited. We have space capability, but meteor science and planetary defence research are not yet areas where India has deep institutional presence. That's what Sekhar is trying to change—by building the educational foundation now.
Why does he emphasize telescopes in schools so heavily?
Because you cannot study the sky without seeing it. A telescope is not a luxury; it's the basic tool of the discipline. Without them, astronomy remains abstract, theoretical. With them, it becomes real.
Is this a practical concern or a long-term vision?
Both. The immediate concern is that India is producing very few professional meteor scientists. The long-term vision is a country with the expertise to contribute meaningfully to planetary defence efforts globally.
What does it mean that he's the first professional meteor scientist from India?
It means the field didn't exist here before him. He didn't follow a path; he created one. Now he's asking others to follow.