Governor João Doria honored, this Friday (18), Miro Latansio Tsai, the youngest person in the world to identify asteroids. During a visit to the Catavento Museum, Doria handed over a plaque in honor of the little scientist. The boy discovered 15 celestial bodies approved by the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) and which will later be confirmed by the American Space Agency (NASA). On the occasion, the Governor also presented him with a telescope.
“São Paulo is the state that most supports and invests in science, especially when it comes to the learning of young and future scientists. As is the case with our Miro, who is five years old and has already discovered 15 asteroids, to the point of being honored by NASA,” said Doria.
During the pandemic, Miro’s parents got to know the Asteroid Hunt project and enrolled their son. The purpose of the program is to constantly map the sky in search of nearby objects that may present a risk of collision with Earth. With the ability to handle the program, the boy located, between October and November 2021, 15 celestial bodies never seen before.
Born in São Paulo, Miro preferred museums to playgrounds since he was little. According to the boy’s mother, Carla Latansio, at the age of two, when he arrived at the Catavento Museum, he had already started to name all the planets in the Solar System, even though he had never studied the subject. The little prodigy is also fluent in English and is learning Mandarin from his father, Jack Tsai.
About the Catavento Museum
Opened in March 2009, the Catavento Museum’s mission is to bring children, young people and adults closer to the universe of science, arouse curiosity, and transmit basic knowledge and social values ??through interactive and attractive exhibitions, in simple and accessible language. The museum has 250 installations in 12 thousand square meters of exhibition area, which are divided into four major sections: Universe, Life, Engenho and Sociedade.
Around 6 million visitors have already been attended by the museum, which is located in the Palácio das Indústrias, one of the most important historic buildings in the city of São Paulo. The building opened in 1924, originally as an exhibition site.
