After an unanticipated [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] extra trip around the Sun, the NEAR spacecraft [ http://near.jhuapl.…] is now politely approaching [ http://near.jhuapl.…] asteroid 433 [ http://near.jhuapl.…], Eros [ http://near.jhuapl.…], at a respectful relative speed of about 20 miles per hour. Still nearly 2,000 miles distant, NEAR will [ http://www.jhuapl.e…] close to within approximately 200 miles by February 14th - Valentine's Day. If all goes well, the spacecraft will then be captured by the gentle attraction of Eros' [ http://near.jhuapl.…] gravity, becoming the first artificial moon of an asteroid [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. While Eros is not round [ http://nearweb.jhua…] it is certainly not heart-shaped [ http://echo.jpl.nas…] either as seen in this series [ http://near.jhuapl.…] of frames showing the roughly 20 x 8 x 8 mile asteroid during its 5.27 hour rotation period. Different [ http://www.seds.org…] perspectives clearly show a gouge or saddle and a large impact crater with a raised rim near the asteroid's [ http://www.boulder.…] narrow waist. The frames were recorded by the NEAR spacecraft's multi-spectral imager [ http://near.jhuapl.…] on February 4th from a range of 4,600 miles.
Explanation
After an unanticipated [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] extra trip around the Sun, the NEAR spacecraft [ http://near.jhuapl.…] is now politely approaching [ http://near.jhuapl.…] asteroid 433 [ http://near.jhuapl.…], Eros [ http://near.jhuapl.…], at a respectful relative speed of about 20 miles per hour. Still nearly 2,000 miles distant, NEAR will [ http://www.jhuapl.e…] close to within approximately 200 miles by February 14th - Valentine's Day. If all goes well, the spacecraft will then be captured by the gentle attraction of Eros' [ http://near.jhuapl.…] gravity, becoming the first artificial moon of an asteroid [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. While Eros is not round [ http://nearweb.jhua…] it is certainly not heart-shaped [ http://echo.jpl.nas…] either as seen in this series [ http://near.jhuapl.…] of frames showing the roughly 20 x 8 x 8 mile asteroid during its 5.27 hour rotation period. Different [ http://www.seds.org…] perspectives clearly show a gouge or saddle and a large impact crater with a raised rim near the asteroid's [ http://www.boulder.…] narrow waist. The frames were recorded by the NEAR spacecraft's multi-spectral imager [ http://near.jhuapl.…] on February 4th from a range of 4,600 miles.
