Three Filipino High School Students Honored by Naming Three Asteroids After Them

Three Filipino high school students were given the honor to have three minor planets named after them.

The students won the second place in the "Physical category of the 2018 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for their design and development of Solar-Tracking Arduino-Rooted PV Panels," according to Philippine Star. 

"The study aimed to improve the power harvesting and generating capacity of photovoltaic cells by designing and building a solar device that mimics a flower opening when the sun is out, tracks the sun's movement, closes when the light source is no longer detected and responds to humidity and temperature to maximize power generation," the abstract of the students' study read.

The Department of Education made a statement that the Camarines Sur National High School in Naga City student-researchers Eugene Rivera, Joscel Kent Manzanero and Keith Russel Cadores "each received a certificate identifying their very own minor planet and an orbital plot showing its current location."

Asteroids discovered by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory are named to high school students who excel at science competitions since 2001. INTEL ISEF is currently the largest pre-college science competition and program of the Society for Science and the Public.