Carl Gustav Witt discovered asteroid 433 Eros on the 13th of August 1898 while observing beta Aquarii at the Berlin Urania Observatory. Auguste Charlois independently found the object shortly after at Nice Observatory.
The discovery of 433 Eros marked the first time humanity identified a near-Earth asteroid and broke centuries of tradition regarding minor planet naming conventions. It became the first minor planet given a male name from Greek mythology to honor Erōs, the son of Aphrodite and god of love.
NASA entered orbit around 433 Eros in 2000 and concluded the historic soft landing on the 12th of February 2001 using maneuvering jets. This event marked the first time a Near Earth asteroid was closely visited by a spacecraft, orbited, and soft-landed upon.
Asteroid 433 Eros measures about five times larger than the impactor that created Chicxulub crater and has a density of 2.67 grams per cubic centimeter matching Earth's crust composition. The object is an elongated peanut-shaped body with daytime temperatures reaching approximately 350 Kelvin at perihelion while nighttime measurements fall near 170 Kelvin.
Dynamical system modeling suggests 433 Eros may evolve into an Earth-crosser within two million years with roughly a 50% chance of becoming an impactor over extended time scales. Current data indicates no immediate danger to human civilization despite its classification as a potential impactor.