A Giant Gouge on Asteroid Eros
Explanation:
Asteroid 433 Eros is posing several riddles. NASA's
robot spacecraft NEAR began orbiting the 30-kilometer
space rock last week, and
new pictures are now being
beamed back to Earth regularly.
As usual in
science,
when you arrive at a place you've
never been before,
you see things you
don't immediately understand.
Scientists are
contemplating, for example, the cause of the
above-pictured giant gouge in the middle of Eros.
Intriguing internal features include groves oriented
parallel to the
asteroid's length and the relative paucity of craters.
These indicate that the gouge formed well after the
asteroid itself.
One question answered by the shape and density is that,
unlike asteroid
253 Mathilde,
Eros is not a
pile of rocks but one
big rock.
Astronomers are
hopeful that data taken over the coming year might
indicate the nature and origin of the baffling bright patches.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
