January 26, 1998
The universe has spent billions of years making things that shine. On your birthday, we celebrate one of its quieter masterpieces.
Interplanetary Spacecraft Passes Earth
Birthday · January 26, 1998
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APOD published January 26, 1998. Credit: P. Jenniskens (NASA /ARC/ Leonid98). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Last Thursday an interplanetary spacecraft flew right past the Earth. The above images show sunlight momentarily reflected from this spacecraft's solar panels. No aliens were involved - the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission actually originated from Earth. Launched in 1996, NEAR zipped past the asteroid 253 Mathilde last June. This Earth flyby gravitationally deflects NEAR onto a trajectory passing the asteroid 433 Eros next year. Above, NEAR appears to move through the constellation of Perseus, as clouds created a changing diffuse white glow. NEAR was only visible for about 2 minutes from San Jose, California, where these image-intensified video camera observations were taken.
Image credit: P. Jenniskens (NASA /ARC/ Leonid98)