Asteroids essays

Asteroids essays Eros is an asteroid but can be called a minor planet. It orbits the sun that sometimes causes it to closely pass as 14,000,000 miles next to Earth. Scientists believe that Eros comes this close to Earth every 31 years. The last time Eros came close to Earth was back in 1975. Therefore, the next time it will approach Earth will be in 2006. The pathway the asteroid takes can be changed by gravitational pull of other planets. This can change and interfere because of the gravitational pull and how it will approach Earth within the next 15 years. Eros has been described as having a football or potato shape. The radius is 4.3 miles, the length about 21 miles, and about 8 miles wide. Its orbit around the sun lasts about 642 days coming as close as 106,000,000 miles and going as far as 165,000,000 miles away from the sun. Scientists have used Eros as a guide to help determine the Earths average distance to the sun. This was done when Eros was. closest to the Earth. Space craft have landed on Venus, Mars, and the Moon but none have ever landed on a moving rock in space. On February 12, 2001, Scientists maneuvered NEAR Shoemaker unmanned space craft to a soft landing on the potato - shaped asteroid Eros. NEAR ¹s mission had already been complete. NEAR stands for Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous. This particular mission was to orbit Eros for one year but scientists did better than what was expected. They guided the craft by using five engine burners that slowed NEAR to four miles an hour so it could land. NEAR sent signals to Earth with 69 photographs taken at the time of the descent. NEAR solved the mysteries about the Asteroid it took pictures of craters, boulders, and dust. NEAR ¹s camera was on the landing side. The pictures showed few small craters. Some of the larger craters showed they had been filled. Scientists suggested this was caused by shifting dust on Eros ¹ exterior. The asteroid sho ...