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Astronomers wishing to observe weird visitors in our solar system were caught off guard last month by the rare double KW4 asteroid, which made a "near" pass from the Earth at a distance of 3.2 million miles. It was far enough for space rock to have no chance of threatening our planet, but it was close enough for scientists to see the special visitor.
The 1999 asteroid KW4 does not look like most other space rocks that go beyond our planet to make their way around the Sun. Instead of one big object, 1999 KW4 is actually two separate rocks; a large main body that is about a mile in diameter and a smaller "asteroid moon" in orbit.
Most estimates seem to indicate that the moon of a pint is still quite large, measuring more than a quarter of a mile wide. A new note from the European Southern Observatory reveals that the duo has come close enough to the Earth to be captured by the very large telescope (VLT), and the image is clear enough that we can see the two distinct objects which make up the double asteroid.
The blurred image is the actual photo taken by the scientists, and the image on the right is an artist's interpretation of what the object might look like if we could see it perfectly.
Efforts to capture images of the asteroid have goals other than just to see it. Astronomers try to learn as much as possible about the rocks that pass near the Earth to better prepare us for a day where we might be a little too close to feel comfortable.
"These data, combined with those obtained with other telescopes as part of the IAWN campaign, will be critical in assessing effective deflection strategies in the event that an asteroid is on a collision course with the Earth" , said ESO astronomer Olivier Hainaut. in a report. "In the worst case, this knowledge is also essential for predicting how an asteroid could interact with the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth, thus allowing us to limit damage in the event of a collision."
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