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.
Mynd/Myndskeið:ESO/M. Kornmesser
Um myndskeiðið
Auðkenni: | eso1910b |
Útgáfudagur: | Jún 3, 2019, 12:00 CEST |
Tengdar fréttatilkynningar: | eso1910 |
Tímalengd: | 28 s |
Frame rate: | 25 fps |
Um fyrirbærið
Nafn: | Asteroid |
Tegund: | Unspecified : Interplanetary Body : Asteroid |
Flokkur: | Solar System |