distance. A suitable analogy would be the distance from the top centre of a bun to the bottom centre as compared to the distance from the top centre to a point on the bun's circumference: top-to-bottom is a longer distance than top-to-periphery when measured along the surface but shorter than it in direct straight-line terms. Compression from the same impact is believed to have created the thrust fault Hinks Dorsum. Data from the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft collected on Eros in December 1998 suggests that it could contain 20 billion tonnes of aluminum and similar amounts of metals that are rare on Earth, such as gold and platinum. Visibility from Earth On 31 January 2012, Eros passed Earth at , about 70 times the distance to the Moon, with a visual magnitude of +8.1. During rare oppositions, every 81 years, such as in 1975 and 2056, Eros can reach a magnitude of +7.0, which is brighter than Neptune and brighter than any main-belt asteroid except 1 Ceres, 4 Vesta and, rarely, 2 Pallas and 7 Iris. Under this condition, the asteroid actually appears to stop, but unlike the normal condition for a body in heliocentric conjunction with Earth, its retrograde motion is very small. For example, in January and February 2137, it moves retrograde only 34 minutes in right ascension. In popular culture In the novel and television series The Expanse, a catastrophic science experiment is unleashed on a civilian population living within tunnels cut through Eros. This so-called "Eros Incident" ends with the asteroid mysteriously breaking its usual orbit and crashing into Venus. It makes an appearance in the novel (and its film adaption) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, serving as a base for humanity. In the Space Angel episode 'Visitors from Outer Space' (title text not quite matching narration), Scott McCloud and his crew are forced to destroy Eros by deflecting it into the Sun, after it becomes a hazard to spacecraft navigation. Gallery See also List of geological features on 433 Eros Lists of astronomical objects Notes References Further reading External links NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft NEAR image of the day archive The Subtle Colors of Eros The Color of Regolith Color View of the Saddle Creating Color Images of Eros Eros Color at Higher Resolution Eros' colors Eros in color Movie: NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft landing The Eros Project (OrbDev's attempts at litigation over their property