Mystery Photo

What in the world is it?

Don’t peek at the answer until you’ve given this a good try! Then, scroll down a bit and the truth will be revealed to you. Credit: NASA/ESA, John Clarke (University of Michigan) What In the World Is It? This is the last image of asteroid 433 Eros received from NEAR Shoemaker. Taken from a range of 120 meters (394 feet), it measures 6 meters (20 feet) across. What we can see of the rock at the top of the image measures 4 meters (12 feet) across. The streaky lines at the bottom indicate loss of signal as the spacecraft touched down on the asteroid during transmission of this image. Today, at 3:02:10 EST the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft traveled its last mile, cruising down to the surface of Eros at a gentle 4 mph (1.9 meters per second), finally coming to rest after its 2-million-mile journey. Back