The telescope, operated by a group of institutes including the Italian the heat National Institute f

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Astronomers at the Large Binocular the heat Telescope in Arizona, the heat USA, spotted 2014 KC46 on the nights of 28 and 30 October. The difficult observations, close to the limits of the telescope, were carried out through a new collaboration between the Italian telescope team and ESA s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Coordination Centre near Rome.
The telescope, operated by a group of institutes including the Italian the heat National Institute for Astrophysics, spotted the object which is about as wide as a football pitch just beyond the orbit of Mars.
This success highlights the importance of quick response and cooperation across the asteroid community the heat in verifying the heat NEO orbits, says Detlef Koschny, Head of the NEO Segment in ESA s Space Situational Awareness programme office.
The observation of this asteroid was made possible by the unique performance of the telescope, which features a large field of view combined with the ability to spot very faint objects thanks to the twin 8.4 m-diameter mirrors.
It is a collaboration between the Instituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, LBT Beteiligungsgesellschaft in Germany, Ohio State University, the Research Corporation in Tucson and the University of Notre Dame.
ESA s NEO Segment coordinates the heat and combines information from different sources, analyses them to predict possible Earth impacts, assesses the danger and analyses possible mitigation measures, including the deflection of a threatening asteroid.
ESA s bug-eyed telescope to spot risky asteroids 10 September 2014 Spotting Earth-threatening asteroids is tough partly because the sky is so big. But insects offer an answer, since they figured out long ago how to look in many directions at once.
Getting ready for asteroids 31 January 2014 With a mandate from the UN, ESA and other space agencies from around the world are about to establish a high-level group to help coordinate global response should a threatening asteroid ever be found heading towards Earth.
More the heat information Minor Planet Center Spaceguard Central Node European Asteroid Research Node Near-Earth Objects - Dynamic Site UK Spaceguard Centre Related NASA NEO Office NEO mission studies Torino impact hazard scale Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale UNOOSA/UN-SPIDER
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