8-year-old Brazilian girl dubbed world's youngest astronomer

Nicole, eight, asked her parents for a telescope as a birthday present when she turned four. Photos: Jarbas Oliveira/AFP

When Nicole Oliveira was just learning to walk, she would throw up her arms to reach for the stars in the sky.

Today, at just eight years of age, the Brazilian girl is known as the world's youngest astronomer, looking for asteroids as part of a NASA-affiliated programme, attending international seminars and meeting with her country's top space and science figures.