* Astronomy

 It rained red in Pattazhy in 2001. Now the village near Kollam has a namesake near the red planet in the solar system. Dr Sainudeen Pattazhy, the environmentalist who made his mark with a pioneering study on the red rain phenomenon in Kerala, never knew he would be instrumental in immortalising his birthplace in space.
Sainudeen Sahib, a zoology lecturer in Sree Narayana College, Kollam, shot into limelight after he got a call from Nasa information centre last week. He could hardly believe his ears when he was told that an asteroid located somewhere between Mars and Jupiter would bear his name 5178 Pattazhy.

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