Bhubaneswar, July 1: The 16th edition of Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS), kicked off on Friday. Organised by Tata Steel in collaboration with Pathani Samanta Planetarium, Bhubaneswar, YATS aims to identify and promote the talent of school students of Odisha in the field of space science and astronomy.

This year YATS will be conducted in a hybrid mode where students can participate physically in their schools or virtually through the YATS website (https://bit.ly/YATS2022). Candidates will take the test, comprising of objective questions and an essay, to get shortlisted among top 20 winners to bag exciting prizes.

The theme for YATS 2022 is “Time to unravel the universe” and will include the following competitions:

•           An open quiz: conducted physically in schools (for students of classes 6th to 10th)

•           A written competition: conducted in schools and online (for students of classes 9th and 10th)

Top two participants from each district of Odisha will be selected and invited to the grand finale scheduled to be held on December 12-13, 2022 in Bhubaneswar. After further evaluation based on personal interactions, top 20 winners will be awarded on the occasion.

YATS has completed 16 years of opening young minds to the wonders of space science. It is aimed at educating the students of Odisha about the contributions of the legendary astronomer, Pathani Samanta, in the field of astronomy.