NEAR image of the day for 2000 Oct 11
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Sunrise in the Saddle NEAR Shoemaker photographed this unusual view of Eros on September 16, 2000, while the spacecraft was circling the asteroid from a 100-kilometer (62-mile) orbit. The western wall of the asteroid's "saddle" is illuminated just after local sunrise, while the saddle's floor (to the lower right) remains in shadow. The region shown is about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) across.
(Mosaic of images 0144472852, 0144472790, 0144472976, 0144482914)
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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.