The
image at left was obtained as the spacecraft approached Mathilde with its
camera pointed near the direction of the Sun; only a few of the prominent
ridges on Mathilde are illuminated. The visible area at left is 29 km high,
and the phase angle (the angle from Sun-Mathilde- spacecraft) is 136°.
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As
the spacecraft receded from Mathilde, it observed the asteroid (about 60
km across) almost fully lit by the Sun at a phase angle of 43° (right
image). Mathilde's irregular shape results from a long history of severe
collisions with smaller asteroids. The largest visible crater is 30 km in
diameter. |
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