Artist’s Impression of Asteroid 1999 KW4
The unique capabilities of the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope have enabled it to obtain the sharpest images of a double asteroid as it flew by Earth on 25 May. While this double asteroid was not itself a threatening object, scientists used the opportunity to rehearse the response to a hazardous Near-Earth Object (NEO), proving that ESO’s front-line technology could be critical in planetary defence.
This artist’s impression shows both components of the double asteroid 1999 KW4 tumbling through space during its Earth fly-by.
Credit:ESO/M. Kornmesser
About the Video
Id: | eso1910b |
Release date: | 3 June 2019, 12:00 |
Related releases: | eso1910 |
Duration: | 28 s |
Frame rate: | 25 fps |
About the Object
Name: | Asteroid |
Type: | Unspecified : Interplanetary Body : Asteroid |
Category: | Solar System |