ESO — ESO Telescope Reveals What Could be the Smallest Dwarf Planet Yet in the Solar System — Science Release eso1918

ESO — Reaching New Heights in Astronomy Subscription preferences | Unsubscribe | View in browser European Southern Observatory ESO News 28 October 2019 28 October 2019 — ESO Science Release eso1918 ESO Telescope Reveals What Could be the Smallest Dwarf Planet Yet in the Solar System Astronomers using ESO's SPHERE instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) have revealed that the asteroid Hygiea could be classified as a dwarf planet. The object is the fourth largest in the asteroid belt after Ceres, Vesta and Pallas. For the first time, astronomers have observed Hygiea in sufficiently high resolution to study its surface and determine its shape and size. They found that Hygiea is spherical, potentially taking the crown from Ceres as the smallest dwarf planet in the Solar System. The release, images and videos are available on: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1918/ Kind regards, The ESO Department of Communication 28 October 2019   ESO Announcements Enjoy each day of 2020 with the ESO Calendar 28 October 2019: Is it Pac-Man trying to swallow the Moon or a fortuitous photo of one of our VLT Auxiliary telescopes on the cover of the 2020 ESO Calendar? The calendar, which ... Read more Share this newsletter on:     Start receiving this newsletter in your language  Picture of the Week 28 October 2019 Falling in Fornax Upcoming Events Ongoing Café & Kosmos in Munich              ESO Pictures of the Week You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to ESO News. Subscription preferences | Unsubscribe | View in browser Follow us on: European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str 2, D-85748 Garching bei München, Germany