Asteroid Eros Could Use a Few Solar Flares

Asteroid Eros could use a few good solar flares

Wanted: A Few Good Solar Flares -- A 15-second engine burn on March 3 will nudge NASA's NEAR spacecraft into a tighter orbit around Eros. With a little help from the Sun -- in the form of a big solar flare -- the satellite could get its first readings of the asteroid's composition.