Europe Opens New Asteroid-hunting Center

摘要

Europe has a new hub that will help coordinate scientists' efforts to detect and track potentially dangerous asteroids. The European Space Agency inaugurated its Near-Earth Object (NEO) Coordination Center May 22, cutting the ribbon on a facility that officials said will strengthen Europe's contribution to the hunt for potentially dangerous asteroids and comets. The new facility - which is located at the ESA Center for Earth Observation in Frascati, Italy - will support asteroid hunters, serve as the main access point for European NEO data networks and provide data in near-real time to scientific institutions, international organizations and policymakers, ESA officials said.