ASTEROID EROS

Image 1: This incredible picture of Eros, taken on February 14, 2000, shows the view looking from one end of the asteroid across the gouge on its underside and toward the opposite end. In this mosaic, constructed from two images taken after the NEAR spacecraft was inserted into orbit, features as small as 120 feet (35 meters) across can be seen. House-sized boulders are present in several places; one lies on the edge of the giant crater separating the two ends of the asteroid. Image Credit: NASA/JHUAPL More Information: NEAR Mission Image 2: While NEAR Shoemaker orbits Eros, the asteroid appears too large for the camera's field of view. In order to get a complete view of the surface from a particular vantage point, several images are mosaicked. To do this, the digital images returned by the spacecraft are draped over a computer model of the asteroid's shape. This spectacular view -- looking down on the north polar region -- was constructed from six images taken February 29, 2000, from an orbital altitude of about 200 kilometers (124 miles). Image Credit: NASA/JHUAPL More Information: Johns Hopkins Laboratory