http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/spacewatch/NEAR.html

Spacewatch images of the NEAR spacecraft

     Robert Jedicke managed to get the following images of the NEAR
     spacecraft as it headed away from Earth on its way to (433) Eros. Click
     here to see a mosaic of 6 images obtained on 1996 Feb. 18 UT with the
     Spacewatch Telescope. For a reverse video version of the same image,
     click here. This mosaic is comprised of 6 images, each 5.3 arcminutes
     square with north at top, west at right. You can see the faint trailed
     images of NEAR and its booster traveling from about 8 o'clock to 2
     o'clock in the frames. The images were obtained on 1996 Feb. 18 between
     12:12 and 12:45 UT with the Spacewatch Telescope. The spacecraft was
     between 310,000 km and 320,000 km from Earth at the time of
     observation.

     [Image]

     This is a closeup of the first image of NEAR, taken on 1996 February 18
     at 12:12:29 UT. The image is 4.5 arcminutes square with North on top
     and East at left. The NEAR spacecraft is the brighter trail to the left
     (east) near the center of the image, while the fainter trail is that of
     the booster. The spacecraft was estimated to be about V magnitude
     20-20.5, while the fainter booster is perhaps about V magntiude 21.
     Thanks go to George Lewis at JPL for providing an ephemeris for the
     spacecraft. The image and mosaic was prepared by Jim Scotti in data
     obtained by Robert Jedicke.