Celestial honour: Pandit Jasraj becomes first Indian musician to have minor planet named after him

International Astronomical Union (IAU), a body responsible for promoting and safeguarding the science of astronomy, named a minor planet located between Mars and Jupiter after celebrated Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj.

The minor planet, 'Panditjasraj (300128)', was discovered on November 11, 2006. The number '300128' denotes the vocalist's date of birth, January 28, 1930.

The minor planet, technically known as '2006 VP32' by the astronomy community, was discovered by the NASA-funded project called the Catalina Sky Survey which is dedicated to tracking and discovering near-Earth objects (NEOs). It was spotted by Mt Lemmon Survey telescope in Arizona.

Minor planets are celestial objects which orbit the sun but it is not categorized by the astronomical community as 'planets'.

Speaking to PTI, Pandit Jasraj said, "Blessed....in this honour one can experience only god's grace."

Pandit Jasraj became the first Indian classical musician to have a planet named after him, joining the list of notable western composers like Beethoven, Mozart and Pavarotti.

Spanning a career of more than 80 years, the Indian classical vocalist belonging to 'Mewati Gharana', won many accolades including Sumitra Charat Ram Award for Lifetime Achievement, Marwar Sangeet Ratna Award for his classical and semi-classical performances.

Many of his performances have also been turned into albums and film soundtracks.