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Computer Processing Brings out Eros's Details

Target Name:  Asteroid Eros
Spacecraft:  NEAR
Produced by:  NASA/JHU-APL
Copyright: NASA Copyright Free Policy
Date Taken:  12 February 2000
Date Released: 16 February 2000

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The NEAR camera's ability to show details of Eros's surface is limited by the spacecraft's distance from the asteroid. That is, the closer the spacecraft is to the surface, the more that details are visible. However mission scientists regularly use computer processing to squeeze an extra measure of information from returned data. In a technique known as "superresolution", many images of the same scene acquired at very, very slightly different camera pointing are carefully overlain and processed to bright out details even smaller than would normally be visible. In this rendition constructed out of 20 image frames acquired Feb. 12, 2000, the images have first been enhanced ("high-pass filtered") to accentuate small-scale details. Superresolution was then used to bring out features below the normal ability of the camera to resolve.

(Mosaic of images 0125957025 and 0125957087)

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