433 Eros, the Target Asteroid

NEAR is a mission to orbit the asteroid 433 Eros and study it in detail for a year. The following pages give details about this asteroid.

A Brief Summary of 433 Eros

If you only have time for a short visit and want to get an overview of Eros quickly this is a good place to visit. If you have time to allow the story to unfold in more detail then go to the history section first.

A History of the Discovery of the Asteroids

There was a strong feeling that something must be there, but the asteroids were a surprise. The story has roots in the distant past and follows our understanding of the nature of the solar system as it came into sharper focus. Find out why Eros was the most important and useful asteroid. Plan on spending some time in this section, bring a lunch.

Software

Wouldn't it be nice to have your own miniature solar system? Something you could keep in your home and enjoy whenever you wanted? Now you can, and it's less expensive than you might think.

A 3-D model of Eros

Images from the NEAR flyby of December 1998 were used to derive a shape model of Eros. This model will be improved from orbital data but still gives a good idea of the shape. The shape model viewer allows setting the viewpoint and lighting and is computed using the IDL computer language and displayed using IONScript, both from RSI.

Links to other Pages

Links to other web pages related to 433 Eros or its astronomical background.