ESOcast 202 Light: ESO helps protect Earth from dangerous asteroids
Channel: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Date: 2019-06-03

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.

The video is available in 4K UHD.

The ESOcast Light is a series of short videos bringing you the wonders of the Universe in bite-sized pieces. The ESOcast Light episodes will not be replacing the standard, longer ESOcasts, but complement them with current astronomy news and images in ESO press releases.

More information and download options: http://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso1910a/

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Credit:
ESO.

Directed by: Nico Bartmann.  
Editing: Nico Bartmann.  
Web and technical support: Mathias André and Raquel Yumi Shida.  
Written by: Laura Hiscott and Calum Turner.  
Music: tonelabs - Orion Fog (www.tonelabs.com).  
Footage and photos: ESO, D. Gasparri (www.astroatacama.com), M. Kornmesser, NASA, ESA.  
Scientific consultant: Paola Amico and Mariya Lyubenova.