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Discoveries > Asteroids VII

ASTEROIDS : (216) KLEOPATRA



 
Credit : CFHT
The asteroid Kleopatra observed in adaptive optics at CFHT with the AOB system.


 
Credit : JPL
The asteroid Kleopatra reconstructed from radar observations.


  
Credit : ESO/IMCCE
The asteroid Kleopatra in adaptive optics at ESO with the Adonis system.


In November 1999, images of (216) Kleopatra were obtained at CFHT using an adaptive optics system (AOB). The images at left were made during a period of 7 hours while the asteroid was 170 millions kilometers from Earth.
Kleopatra measure about 217 kilometers long and 94 kilometers wide. 
These observations agree with the others made ​​by radar or in optics (see below).


Near the same date, radar echoes obtained from Arecibo allowed to reconstitute Kleopatra "bone-shaped". The scale is provided by the white bar on the left which is 100km long. 





Left, images of Kleopatra made ​​at ESO on October 25, 1999 with the Adonis adaptive optics system showing the same shape.