NEAR image of the day for 2000 Sep 05

This view of a long groove on Eros was captured by NEAR Shoemaker's camera during an imaging sequence taken on September 1, 2000, from an orbital altitude of 83 kilometers (52 miles). The groove that cuts across the top of the image is 140 meters (460 feet) across but only a few meters deep. It is easily visible here only because it is so obliquely illuminated that the subtle topography stands out. Grooves are thought to have formed over deep fractures in the asteroid, possibly where loose regolith has drained into the cracks. This particular groove appears to be relatively old because a rather large 400-meter (1300-foot) diameter impact crater (seen in the upper right of the image) has been superimposed on it. The whole scene shown here is 2.7 kilometers (1.7 miles) across.

(Image 0143180389)