As they examined the images, they noticed a star-like object moving along an apparent orbital path, and decided to track the object and provide the preliminary data to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Minor Planet Center (MPC), run by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Harvard College Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

To the delight of Alexey Sergeyev, a visiting Ukrainian astronomer, and Bahodir Hafizov, the resident Uzbek astronomer at Maidanak, the MPC confirmed that the object had not been previously documented in their catalogue. The Center assigned the object a provisional designation, and the real work began. Over the course of almost two years, Hafizov daily plotted the trajectory and defined the precise coordinates of the object until the Center was satisfied that it was indeed a new minor planet, or small solar system body (SSSB), with a known orbit. After being given an official designation as 210271 in the MPC catalogue, the planet was named Samarkand, after the city that fostered some of the earliest innovations in astronomy.

The Director of Tashkent’s Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute (UBAI), Shuhrat Ehgamberdiev, is a long-time member of the IAU and runs Maidanak Observatory, which has ongoing cooperation with U.S. and other international institutions. It is this cooperation that has resulted in the technological capability to make such observations. “This discovery,” he says, “was the result of many years of scrupulous observation with the help of the most modern and highly-sensitive equipment.” Specifically, the new SSSB was found using a 200,000 dollar camera—the best in the region—manufactured in the United States and given to UBAI by the Association of Korean Universities.

This kind of international cooperation in the field of astronomy was not possible before independence, notes Ehgamberdiev, because Maidanak was a military satellite ranging station during the Soviet period, and was inaccessible to foreigners. Today, he remarks, “astronomy is one of the most important priorities in our scientific development,” and UBAI has cooperated with numerous international scientists and organizations on a wide variety of projects.

One of the most significant projects on which the Institute is working is the observation of young stars outside our solar system. Since 2001, Maidanak has participated in a young star observational team sponsored by Wesleyan University in Connecticut. This group of astronomers from around the world has studied and observed the unique composition and activities of KH15D, a star of planet-forming age. It was the first time astronomers observed the first phase of planet formation, an event detailed in the March 13, 2008 issue of Nature, in an article co-authored by Mansur Ibrahimov of UBAI. According to Ehgamberdiev, the Institute publishes around 20 articles every year in peer-reviewed astrophysical journals, which sets the standard for the region.

Another joint project, also involving Ibrahimov, was the monitoring of the brightness of quasars in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. Quasars are considered the most luminous objects in the universe, comprising the compact region at the center of a young active galaxy. According to Dr. Turnshek of Pittsburgh, who started working with Maidanak in the mid 90’s, accurate monitoring of quasars requires long-term observation. With over two thousand clear hours per year, says Ehgamberdiev, “Maidanak has the most amenable conditions in all of Eurasia” for such studies.

Because of the observatory’s ideal location and atmospheric conditions, Maidanak has joined an international program for the monitoring of the Earth’s average temperature. Accurate estimates of the Earth’s average temperature are impossible through traditional means of data collection; a fact which Ehgamberdiev says few people consider. Now, however, astronomers have begun calculating the temperature based on Earth’s global albedo, or reflectance, which shows the amount of energy directed at the planet. In order to do this, scientists monitor “earthshine”, or the amount of sunlight reflected from the Earth onto the lunar surface. It is an important global project in which Maidanak has a key role.

In addition to seeking more opportunities for international cooperation with Korea, Japan, and others, UBAI also hopes to publish a Maidanak Catalogue of Quasars, a groundbreaking effort comprised of more than 10 years of study. Uzbek astronomers aren’t just allowing the use of their facilities for international projects, however. Another astronomer from the Institute, Shukur Kholikov, is currently working in Arizona with the Global Oscillations Network Group (GONG), in cooperation with the National Solar Observatory, to conduct a detailed study of the sun’s internal composition. He works with an international staff of the best solar scientists to study data with immediate implications for space travel and climate studies.

Clearly, the Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute is doing more than just discovering new minor planets. Through hard work and cooperation with the global community of astronomers, they have turned Maidanak into a world-class observatory that is helping to solve some of the universe’s most complex puzzles. With a young, earnest group of scholars at UBAI, and a new discovery to ignite the interest of the public, the future looks bright for astronomy in Uzbekistan.

New Minor Planet “Samarkand”—the Details:

• Distance from Sun: 3.044 Astronomical Units, or approximately 455 million kilometers
• Distance from Earth: about 2.044 AU, or approximately 306 million kilometers
• Orbit around Sun: 4.29 Earth years
• Range of Possible Diameters: 840 meters to 1.9 kilometers