NEAR image of the day for 2001 Jan 25
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Starkly Lit Eros NEAR Shoemaker took this picture of Eros' saddle region on January 23, 2001, from an orbital altitude of 34 kilometers (21 miles). The camera was pointed at the highly obliquely lit region of the asteroid near the terminator, the imaginary line dividing day from night. This illumination brings out subtle features of small-scale surface topography. This was among the last images taken before a maneuver the following day, which sent NEAR Shoemaker on course to perform five to six low passes over the ends of the shoe-shaped asteroid from January 24-28. The whole scene is about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) across.
(Image 0155700846)
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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.