Eros image montage

On Jan 29 the multispectral imager on the NEAR spacecraft
acquired the fourth in a series of color image sequences
that will be taken during NEAR’s approach to the asteroid
433 Eros. This montage shows 12 views of Eros, one every
30° of Eros’s rotation for one 5.27-hour Eros “day.” The
time index at the bottom of each image (in Greenwich Mean
Time) shows when it was acquired. When these images were
acquired, NEAR was approximately 10,700 miles (17,100 km)
from the asteroid. Since regular approach imaging began Jan
11, the apparent size of the asteroid has increased by
150% as the spacecraft closes in.

At this resolution of
1.1 miles (1.7 km) per pixel, the peanut-like shape of Eros
is apparent. A detailed shape model of Eros was constructed
from NEAR flyby images taken in December 1998. At that
time the Sun illuminated Eros’s southern hemisphere. In
the views shown here the northern hemisphere is illuminated,
showing the face of Eros that was not imaged during
the 1998 flyby.


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TIFF image

Built and managed by The Johns Hopkins University
Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, NEAR was the first
spacecraft launched in NASA’s Discovery Program of low-cost, small-scale
planetary missions. See the NEAR web page at
http://near.jhuapl.edu
for more details.
Feedback to
Scott Murchie. Scott.Murchie@jhuapl.edu.