Origin and flatness of ponds on asteroid 433 Eros

Abstract

NEAR-Shoemaker Multi-Spectral Imager data reveal several hundred "ponds" on 433 Eros: smooth deposits that sharply embay the bounding depressions in which they lie, and whose spectra appear blue relative to that of the surrounding terrain. We investigate the topography of these ponds on Eros using a new shape model derived from stereophotoclinometric analysis, and validated against altimetry from the NEAR Laser Rangefinder, to constrain the mode of pond formation from three existing models. We update the locations of 55 pond candidates identified in images registered to the new shape model. We classify the flatness of these features according to the behavior of the first and second derivatives of the topography. We find that less than half of pond candidates have clearly flat floors. Based on the pond topography, we favor an external origin for the ponds' deposits. We suggest that fine dust may be transported into bounding depressions by electrostatic levitation, but may adhere to slopes, and that seismic shaking may not be sufficient to bring the deposits to an equipotential surface. Disaggregation of a central boulder should result in an obvious break in slope, such a variation is only observed in roughly half the pond candidates.