NEAR image of the day for 2000 Nov 16
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South of the Paw The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft took this picture of the region south of "the paw" on November 17, 2000, from an orbital altitude of 197 kilometers (122 miles). The paw consists of one large crater, Psyche, and several smaller ones superimposed on the rim, giving the overall appearance of a giant paw print. Psyche isn't shown in this image--it lies just off the lower right corner--but the paw's "toes" spread into the shadowed area. For this view, the camera was pointed southwest toward a portion of the asteroid where the Sun was directly overhead. Such a vantage point minimizes the effects of shadows and is preferred for color mapping. The scene is 9.3 kilometers (5.8 miles) from top to bottom.
(Image 0149584629)
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Built and managed by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, NEAR-Shoemaker was the first spacecraft launched in NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost, small-scale planetary missions. See the NEAR web site for more details. Feedback to Scott Murchie. Scott.Murchie@jhuapl.edu.