Taken with the Sun high in the sky, images with few shadows are best for mapping the color properties of the surface.

Conversely, images taken from directly above a surface with oblique illumination are best for seeing landforms, because shadowing highlights the subtle shape changes on the asteroid's surface.

This image was taken at the latter geometry on May 11, 2000, from an orbital altitude of 52 kilometers (33 miles).

The whole scene is about 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) across, and shows features as small as 4 meters (13 feet). The rounded nature of the landforms results from formation of small impact craters over the eons.

Sharp topography is eroded away by this process, and the surface is blanketed and smoothed by the fragmental debris, or "regolith." The large boulders scattered throughout the scene are the largest fragments of the rocky regolith.

NEAR site

Eros Desktops:   1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Space

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

SPACEDAILY

Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005
The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India.