PATNA: An 18-year-old boy from Sarath village in Madhubani district has been elected by Britain’s Royal Astronomical Society for fellowship.The boy, Amal Pushp, is a Class XII student of Delhi Public School-Patna. Amal’s father Sanjay Kumar works as a superintendent in Central Board of Indirect Taxes and his mother Pushpa Kumari is a homemaker.The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) of Britain is a society that encourages the study of astronomy and solar sciences. The society, which has 4,000 members from across the world, was founded in 1820 to promote astronomical research. Its headquarter is in Burlington House in London.“I was fascinated with astronomical phenomenon, such as solar systems and eclipses and developed an interest in the field since childhood. My school is situated in Khagaul area, where there was a laboratory of astronomers in ancient times,” Amal told this newspaper on Thursday.Dr Robert Massey, deputy executive director at RAS, confirmed the prestigious honour given to the teenager from the city. “Amal Pushp has been elected as a fellow of RAS after a nomination by Lord Martin Rees. It is not an award but a membership to our society,” he informed this newspaper through an email.According to the website of RAS, those who have received fellowship will get benefits such as access to library, archives and grants. The fellowship can be given to anybody above 18 years of age for research in astronomical science, it said.DPS-Patna (Khagaul) principal B Vinod has praised Amal for his achievement. “He is an excellent student and very determined to follow his passion for research in astronomy. We wish him good luck,” he said.Amal said Lord Martin Rees, an emeritus in University of Cambridge , who also holds the title of Astronomer Royal of Britain nominated him for the RAS fellowship. “I had sent my research work on black hole astrophysics to Indian physicist Partha Ghose, former professor at S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Calcutta, who endorsed it for publication.”Amal, while recalling his childhood days, said, “I was interested in increasing my knowledge about planets, starts and the Sun. I began experimenting with the laws of physics from Class IX.”

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