As
the spacecraft closed in on its target, the resolution of the images increased
from 2.8 to 0.19 km per pixel. At 33 x 13 x 13 km in size, Eros is the second
largest near-Earth asteroid and spins on its axis once every 5 hours, 16
minutes. |
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During
the early stages of NEAR's approach, Eros appeared as a small blob only
a few pixels across. The apparent size of Eros and the resolution of the
pictures increased continuously, at first only slowly and later dramatically
day by day until, on February 9, the level of detail visible exceeded that
during NEAR's first flyby of Eros on December 23, 1998. In the last images
shown here, details of Eros's surface have become visible. Heavy cratering
has pockmarked the irregular asteroid's surface. One side is dominated by
a scallop-rimmed gouge, and the opposite side by a conspicuous, raised-rimmed
crater. |
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