Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

An Unexpected Asteroid Valentine

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 14, 2000 is “An Unexpected Asteroid Valentine,” an image. It is credited to Credit: NEAR Project , JHU APL , NASA. The original explanation runs about 107 words.

An Unexpected Asteroid Valentine
Credit: NEAR Project , JHU APL , NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Maybe the Moon owns our hearts , but this won’t stop the occasional asteroid from sending us a valentine . Friday, to the surprise of many, the NEAR mission on approach to asteroid 433 EROS photographed what appears to be a heart-shaped depression .”

— APOD editors, February 14, 2000

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
February 14, 2000
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: NEAR Project , JHU APL , NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 107 words

All of February 2000 → · 2000 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The MoonAsteroids

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: February 14 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.