NEAR image of the day for 2000 Oct 19
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Eros Under a High Sun NEAR Shoemaker's digital camera captured this section of Eros' southern hemisphere on October 16, 2000, from a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles). At the time the Sun was high in the sky, emphasizing variations in the reflectivity of surface material.
The three large craters that run vertically through the image are almost camouflaged by the strong variations in surface brightness, which give this part of the asteroid a mottled appearance. The large boulders, which stand out because of shadows around them, approach 120 meters (390 feet) in size.
(Image 0147089483)
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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.