The region of the sky where astronomers looked for asteroid 2006 QV89

This image shows the region of the sky where asteroid 2006 QV89 would have been seen if on a collision course with Earth in 2019. The three red crosses reveal the specific locations, where the asteroid could have appeared as a single, big black, round source, had it been on a collision course. Nothing was seen.

Even if the asteroid were smaller than expected, at only a few metres across, it would have been seen in the image. Any smaller than this and the VLT could not have spotted it, but it would also be considered harmless as any asteroid this size would burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.