I could name my asteroids. That's really exciting.
In London, Ontario, a twelve-year-old named Siddharth Patel has done what most lifetimes never produce: he has added two objects to the known map of our solar system. Discovered last year and now provisionally designated by NASA's Minor Planet Centre, the asteroids orbit silently between Mars and Jupiter, waiting to carry the names of a country and a city chosen by the boy who found them. His story is less about prodigy than about what becomes possible when genuine curiosity meets patient support — and when a child on a balcony refuses to stop looking up.
- A Grade 7 student has achieved provisional recognition from NASA's Minor Planet Centre for two asteroid discoveries, a milestone most professional astronomers never reach.
- The four-year wait for final confirmation creates a rare suspended moment — two unnamed rocks in the asteroid belt holding the promise of a twelve-year-old's ambitions.
- Patel's family, with no background in astronomy, chose to follow their son's lead rather than redirect it, turning a balcony moment at age five into a decade of telescopes, films, and award-winning comet photography.
- He is already navigating the long arithmetic of becoming an astronaut — air cadets joined, education pathways researched, 3,000 flight hours mentally accounted for — treating Grade 7 as the first calculated step in a deliberate ascent.
Siddharth Patel was five years old when he stepped onto a balcony in downtown London, Ontario, looked up at the night sky, and stayed there. His parents noticed the pull, bought him a telescope, then another. Seven years later, he has discovered two asteroids.
Designated 2024 RX69 and 2024 RH39, both orbit in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. After Patel submitted his findings to the Minor Planet Centre — the international body NASA relies on to track such objects — a year of verification confirmed both as previously unknown. They now hold provisional status. Final confirmation may take another four years, at which point Patel will name them: one for Canada, one for London.
His path into astronomy was self-made. His father, Ronak, openly acknowledged that space was never a family passion — but when his son's curiosity proved genuine and self-directed, the family chose to follow it. They watched films together; Interstellar became Siddharth's favourite. His mother joined the journey as a supporter. In August, Patel won DarkSky International's people's choice award for a comet photograph taken on her smartphone — recognition from an organization devoted to preserving the darkness that makes the stars visible at all.
Observation, though, is only the beginning. Patel has joined air cadets with a specific destination in mind: he wants to become an astronaut. He already knows the requirement — 3,000 flight hours — and is mapping the education path that will take him there, one deliberate step at a time. At twelve, he has already begun the work of becoming what he intends to be. The asteroids are his first discovery. They will not be his last.
Siddharth Patel was five years old when he first stepped onto a balcony in downtown London, Ontario, and looked up. The night sky held him there. His parents noticed. They bought him a telescope, then another, building a collection as his gaze stayed fixed upward. Now twelve, in Grade 7, Patel has done something most people never do: he has found asteroids.
Two of them, to be precise. The first, designated 2024 RX69, and the second, 2024 RH39, both orbit in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Patel discovered them last year. He submitted his findings to the Minor Planet Centre, the international database that NASA relies on to track such objects. After a year of verification, both asteroids have been granted provisional status—meaning they appear to be previously unknown and meet all the scientific criteria. Final confirmation could take another four years.
When that confirmation arrives, Patel will have the right to name them. He has already decided. One will be called CanAstroSid, for Canada. The other, LonAstroSid, for London. "I am really excited because I could name my asteroids," he said. The naming rights alone would mark most people's career highlight. For Patel, they are a waypoint.
His trajectory into astronomy was not inherited. His father, Ronak Patel, admitted without hesitation that space exploration was not a shared family passion. But when his son showed curiosity—genuine, self-directed curiosity—the family chose to nurture it. They watched films with him. Interstellar became his favorite. His mother, Rajani Ramsagar, became part of the journey, not as a fellow enthusiast but as a supporter. "The curiosity is something that he had naturally by himself," Ronak said. "We were just trying to support him."
That support extended beyond telescopes. In August, Patel won the DarkSky International people's choice award for a photograph of a comet he captured on his mother's smartphone. DarkSky International advocates for reducing light pollution—the glow that obscures the night sky in populated areas. His image stood out enough to earn recognition from an organization dedicated to preserving the darkness that makes astronomy possible.
But Patel's ambitions reach beyond observation. He does not want merely to study space from Earth. He wants to travel there. He has joined air cadets with a specific goal: to become an astronaut. The path is long and clearly mapped. Astronauts require 3,000 hours of flight time. Patel is already thinking strategically about how to accumulate those hours, how to position himself now, in Grade 7, so that each step builds toward the next. He is investigating the education pathways that will take him there.
At twelve, most children are still figuring out what they want to be. Patel has already begun the work of becoming it. The asteroids are his first discovery. They will not be his last.
Notable Quotes
The curiosity is something that he had naturally by himself. We were just trying to support him.— Ronak Patel, Siddharth's father
When you have to become an astronaut, you need 3,000 hours of flight time. So, it's better to have all the steps ready right now so I could progress into my future dreams.— Siddharth Patel
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What made you decide to look for asteroids in the first place? Was it something you learned in school?
No, it came from just staring at the night sky. When I was five, I was on a balcony looking up, and something about it grabbed me. My parents got me a telescope after that, and I kept looking. Eventually I started wondering if I could find something no one had seen before.
And you actually did. How did you know what you were looking at when you found them?
You have to learn how to read the data, how to recognize patterns that don't match known asteroids. It took time. I submitted what I found to the Minor Planet Centre, and then they spent a year checking my work to make sure I was right.
A year is a long time to wait. What were you thinking during that year?
I was excited but also nervous. You want to be right. When they finally said yes, that they were provisional asteroids, it felt real in a way it hadn't before.
You're planning to name them after Canada and London. Why those names?
Because that's where I'm from. This is my home. When I name them, I want people to know that a kid from here found them.
Your parents aren't astronomers. How did they react to all of this?
They were supportive from the start, even though it wasn't their thing. They watched movies with me, they got me equipment, they let me pursue it. That made all the difference.
You've joined air cadets because you want to be an astronaut. That's a very specific goal. Are you worried about whether you'll actually make it?
I know it takes 3,000 hours of flight time and a lot of education. But if I start now and plan it right, I can get there. I'm already thinking about what classes to take, what steps come next. It's not just a dream—it's a plan.