Star named after former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Report

The distance of the star from Earth is 392.01 light years. It is the closest star to the Sun.

On the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which was marked as 'Good Governance Day' across the country, the Aurangabad unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) named a star after the 'Bharat Ratna' recipient, informed Aurangabad BJP president Shirish Boralkar on Sunday.

Vajpayee served as the Prime Minister of India from May 16, 1996, to June 1, 1996, and from 19 March 1998 to 22 May 2004.(PTI)

The distance of the star from Earth is 392.01 light years. It is the closest star to the Sun.

"The star with the coordinates 14 05 25.3 -60 28 51.9 has been registered in the International Space Registry on December 25, 2022. The star gets the name Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji. Registration Number CX16408US," read the International Space Registry certificate.

Vajpayee served as the Prime Minister from May 16, 1996 to June 1, 1996 and again from March 19, 1998 to May 22, 2004.

He also served as India's External Affairs Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Moraji Desai from 1977 to 1979. He passed away at AIIMS hospital in Delhi on August 16, 2018.

After coming to power in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as a mark of tribute to the former Prime Minister, declared that December 25 would be celebrated as 'Good Governance Day' every year.