Closing in on Eros

These four images are among thousands NEAR Shoemaker acquired during several low-altitude passes over Eros from January 25-28, 2001. From upper left to lower right, the images show Eros' bouldery surface at increasing resolution. The image at upper left was taken January 27 of a point 13.5 kilometers (8.4 miles) away; the one at the upper right was taken January 26 from 11.1 kilometers (6.9 miles) away. Each top scene is about 550 meters (1,815 feet) across. The image at bottom left was taken January 26 from 4.9 kilometers (3 miles) away, and the bottom right image was taken January 28 from a similar distance. Each lower scene is about 230 meters (760 feet) across.