From a young age, Nicole Oliveira has shown an interest in astronomy. At just 8 years old, he discovered an asteroid for a NASA-affiliated science program.
"When he was two years old and fresh out of school he used to raise his hands to the sky and ask me, 'Mom, I want a star,'" said her mother, Zilma Janaca, 43, who works in the craft industry.
The Nicolinha family, as the little girl is known, moved to Fortaleza, Brazil from their hometown of Maceio, about 1,000 kilometers away, earlier this year. Their move was due to support Nicolinha who received a scholarship to attend a prestigious school.
Luckily, her father, Jean Carlo Lessa Semião, who is a computer scientist, was allowed to continue working without having to go to the office, so that he could fully support his daughter's study needs.
"We understood that this interest in astronomy was serious when he asked for a telescope for his fourth birthday. At the time, I didn't even really understand telescopes," says Zilma.
So eager for Nicolinha to get the telescope, she was willing to not be given a present for her birthday a few years later. As a little girl from a simple family, telescopes are indeed too expensive.
Finally, Nicolinha got the telescope she coveted when she was 7 years old. Her mother said that the telescope could be obtained thanks to financial assistance from friends who helped raise money to gift a telescope for Nicolinha.
The world's smallest astronomer, Nicole Oliveira. Photo: USS Feed
While attending school, Nicolinha enrolled in an astronomy course. This tutoring place also had to lower the minimum age limit of students to 12 years so that it could accommodate Nicolinha's talent in astronomy.
Now, he is known as the youngest astronomer in the world. This little girl also attends international seminars, and meets leading scientific figures in her country.
On his YouTube channel, Nicolinha 2012, Nicolinha has interviewed influential figures such as Brazilian astronomer Duilia de Mello who took part in the discovery of a supernova called SN 1997D.
Last year, Oliveira traveled to Brasilia to meet Brazil's Minister of Science and astronaut Marcos Pontes, the only Brazilian to have been to space so far. As for his own ambitions, Nicolinha wanted to become an aerospace engineer.
"I want to build a rocket. I want to go to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States to see their rocket. I also want all children in Brazil to have access to science," he said.
Currently, Nicolinha is involved in Asteroid Hunters run by the International Astronomical Search Collaboration, a scientific program for ordinary citizens affiliated with NASA, in collaboration with the Brazilian Ministry of Science. So far, Nicolinha has found 18 asteroids for the program.
