SPHERE image of Hygiea
A new SPHERE/VLT image of Hygiea, which could be the Solar System’s smallest dwarf planet yet. As an object in the main asteroid belt, Hygiea satisfies right away three of the four requirements to be classified as a dwarf planet: it orbits around the Sun, it is not a moon and, unlike a planet, it has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. The final requirement is that it have enough mass that its own gravity pulls it into a roughly spherical shape. This is what VLT observations have now revealed about Hygiea.
Credit:ESO/P. Vernazza et al./MISTRAL algorithm (ONERA/CNRS)
About the Image
Id: | eso1918a |
Type: | Planetary |
Release date: | 28 October 2019, 17:00 |
Related releases: | eso1918 |
Size: | 2490 x 1602 px |
About the Object
Name: | Hygiea |
Type: | Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Dwarf planet |
Category: | Solar System |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Optical R | 645 nm | Very Large Telescope SPHERE |