Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. In orbit around Eros since February 2000, the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft's camera recorded the dramatic view earlier this month from an altitude of about 50 kilometers. Eros and other near-Earth asteroids originally orbited in the main asteroid belt , between Jupiter and Mars . Over time, the gravitational influence of Jupiter and other planets perturbed their orbits sending them on trajectories closer to Earth.
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