A planet named after Vishy Anand!

Chess GrandMaster Viswanathan Anand thought it was an April Fool prank when people started congratulating him on April 1st. It is only when he checked the NASA website he was sure that he is among the stars, literally!.

It is a minor planet called 4538 (now called Vishyanand). It revolves around the sun and lies between Mars and Jupiter.

Michael Rudenko, a staff member of the Minor Planet Center and a chess buff is the one who named it after Anand. Rudenko says “The idea of naming a minor planet after Anand was entirely my own. After careful consideration I selected him because in addition to being a great chess player, he is also a gentleman and an astronomy enthusiast”