Sheffield schoolboy who corrected NASA data error had this brilliant putdown for web troll

A Sheffield schoolboy who corrected an error with NASA data has been trolled online - but his response was brilliant.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Mar 2017, 15:29 BST
Updated 24th Mar 2017, 10:09 BST
Miles modestly said he could not take all the credit for the discoveryMiles modestly said he could not take all the credit for the discovery
Miles modestly said he could not take all the credit for the discovery

Miles Soloman's story went viral after the Tapton School pupil spotted flawed readings from the International Space Station and emailed the space agency, which had failed to notice the problem.

While most people praised the 17-year-old's remarkable achievement, his newfound fame inevitably saw a minority take their jealousy out on the youngster via social media.

British astronaut Tim Peake takes a space walk during his time on the International Space Station (ESA/NASA)British astronaut Tim Peake takes a space walk during his time on the International Space Station (ESA/NASA)
British astronaut Tim Peake takes a space walk during his time on the International Space Station (ESA/NASA)
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But when the cruel barbs came his way, Miles again showed his smarts with a great and most importantly scientifically accurate comeback.

"One of my favourite comments was from a guy who said 'your face creates negative energy'," he said.

"I replied 'you can't create energy, it can only be transferred'."

Miles, who lives in Banner Cross, said he has yet to decide on his future career.

British astronaut Tim Peake takes a space walk during his time on the International Space Station (ESA/NASA)British astronaut Tim Peake takes a space walk during his time on the International Space Station (ESA/NASA)
British astronaut Tim Peake takes a space walk during his time on the International Space Station (ESA/NASA)
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But while many young people dream of pop stardom or sporting glory, his ambition is to work with spreadsheets.

"I know it's boring but I pride myself on data manipulation, and I'd love to do something using spreadsheets. Getting a job at CERN (which runs the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland) would be incredible," he said.

Miles is refreshingly modest about his discovery, praising his friends for their contribution.

He was one of a dozen pupils at the school in Crosspool working on the TimPix project, run by the Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS), which gets students to analyse data and look for patterns which could lead to scientific breakthroughs.

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He said everyone had played a part in crunching the numbers, and reserved a special mention for young programmers Naomi Cooper and Joel Mayer.

Miles' ability is not limited to the world of academia. He is also a talented magician and an exponent of freerunning, an increasingly popular form of street gymnastics.

His physics teacher James O'Neill said: "I'm very proud of everyone who worked on this project, especially Miles for having that analytical mind.

"It was the fresh approach from young brains looking at the data in a different way which led to the discovery of something NASA had missed.

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