Tag Archive for 'Vesta'

As NASA’s Dawn spacecraft takes off for its next destination, this mosaic synthesizes some of the best views the spacecraft had of the giant asteroid Vesta. Dawn studied Vesta from July 2011 to September 2012. The towering mountain at the south pole -- more than twice the height of Mount Everest -- is visible at the bottom of the image. The set of three craters known as the ‘snowman’ can be seen at the top left. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Vesta Lacks Metallic Core, New Research Suggests

Apr 28, 2025 by News Staff

Vesta, the second largest asteroid in our Solar System, has not experienced full differentiation into a metallic core, silicate mantle and basaltic crust,...

This image depicts 42 of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter. The images of the asteroids were captured with the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Image credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser / Vernazza et al. / MISTRAL algorithm / ONERA / CNRS.

Astronomers Capture Images of 42 Large Main-Belt Asteroids

Oct 13, 2021 by News Staff

Using the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) instrument mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have conducted...

This image shows the asteroid Vesta. Image credit: NASA / JPL.

Researchers Probe Origin of Asteroid Vesta’s Enormous Troughs and Impact Basins

Sep 1, 2021 by News Staff

A team of planetary researchers from the University of Georgia and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center has explored the relative age of large-scale troughs...

Proximity to Sun’s Magnetic Field Determines Composition of Rocky Planets, Study Says

Jul 2, 2021 by News Staff

Terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) are differentiated into three layers: a metallic core, a silicate shell (mantle and crust), and a...

Asteroid 2018 LA in space (top left image by the Catalina Sky Survey) and the first 23 meteorites recovered on the ground as photographed in situ (scale of each figure is about 4 x 4 cm). Meteorites are shown in order of find (MP-01 top left, to MP-23 bottom right). Image credit: Jenniskens et al., doi: 10.1111/maps.13653.

Asteroid 2018 LA Likely Came from Vesta, Researchers Say

Apr 30, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

2018 LA, a 1.5-m-wide asteroid that disintegrated harmlessly over Botswana, Africa, just hours after its discovery on June 2, 2018, is only the second...

The bright boulders (circled in the images) on the surface of near-Earth asteroid Bennu are pyroxene-rich material from Vesta; some bright material appear to be individual rocks (left) while others appear to be clasts within larger boulders (right). Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / University of Arizona.

OSIRIS-REx Finds Fragments of Minor Planet Vesta on Near-Earth Asteroid Bennu

Sep 22, 2020 by News Staff

In 2019, scientists from the OSIRIS-REx team discovered several unusually bright boulders on the surface of near-Earth asteroid Bennu in images acquired...

Asteroid Vesta Has Turbulent Past

Mar 5, 2020 by News Staff

A new study by Curtin University researchers has shed light on the early days of Vesta, the second largest asteroid of the main belt and the fourth such...

This artist’s concept shows NASA’s Dawn spacecraft arriving at Ceres. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

NASA’s Dawn Mission Ends as Spacecraft Runs Out of Fuel

Nov 2, 2018 by News Staff

NASA declares Dawn, a mission to the two largest bodies in the Solar System’s main asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres, over after the spacecraft depletes...

A young planetary system. Image credit: NASA / FUSE / Lynette Cook.

Research Sheds Light on Sequence of Events that Led to Creation of Earth and Mars

Sep 27, 2017 by News Staff

New research, reported in the journal Nature, changes scientists’ understanding of how terrestrial planets attain their physical and chemical characteristics. A...

Large, smooth areas on Vesta correlated with higher concentrations of hydrogen. Image credit: Elizabeth Palmer / Essam Heggy.

Dawn Data Provide New Evidence for Ground Ice on Asteroid Vesta

Sep 22, 2017 by News Staff

Using data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, researchers have found new evidence for the occurrence of ground ice on Vesta, the second largest asteroid of...

This is an artist’s rendering of the space collision 466 million years ago that gave rise to many of the meteorites falling today. Image credit: Don Davis, Southwest Research Institute.

Study: Today’s Rare Meteorites Were Common in Ordovician Period

Jan 25, 2017 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy is the first to look at meteorites from before giant space collision 466 million years ago. This...

This close-up shows two mysterious bright spots in the same crater basin on Ceres. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.

Mosaic Photo Shows Highly Cratered Surface of Ceres

Mar 4, 2015 by News Staff

Scientists with NASA’s Dawn mission have pieced together a spectacular mosaic image of the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres. The surface of Ceres is...

This is an artist's impression of the dwarf planet Ceres. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Dawn Spacecraft Sees Ceres

Dec 8, 2014 by News Staff

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has just returned its first photo of the dwarf planet Ceres, taken from 1.2 million kilometers away. Dawn spacecraft captured...

Global geologic map of Vesta, showing the spatial distribution of major types of materials. Image credit: D.A. Williams et al.

Scientists Create Global Geologic Map of Asteroid Vesta

Nov 18, 2014 by News Staff

An international group of planetary scientists has produced the first global geologic and tectonic map of Vesta, and constructed the geologic time scale...

In this illustration of the early Solar System, the dashed white line represents the snow line - the transition from the hotter inner Solar System, where water ice is not stable (brown) to the outer Solar System, where water ice is stable (blue). Image credit: Jack Cook / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Study Sheds More Light on Origin of Earth’s Oceans

Oct 31, 2014 by News Staff

According to a team of researchers led by Dr Brian Monteleone of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Earth’s oceans have likely existed since...

This false-color image shows minor planets Ceres and Vesta, Martian moons Phobos and Deimos, planets Jupiter and Saturn, as seen by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS / Texas A&M.

Curiosity Sees Ceres, Vesta, Deimos

Apr 25, 2014 by News Staff

Scientists using the Mast Camera aboard NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover have captured a night-sky image of two minor planets Ceres and Vesta, and one...

Dawn Returns Detailed Images of Vesta

Mar 23, 2012 by James Freeman

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has returned new images of the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta, highlighting unusual geologic features, some of which...

Dawn Returns First Low Altitude Images of Vesta

Dec 22, 2011 by News Staff

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has obtained the first images of Vesta from its low-altitude orbit, according to the mission’s website. The images show...

NASA Presented Mineral Atlas of Vesta

Dec 7, 2011 by James Freeman

NASA scientists presented a mosaic image of Vesta’s southern hemisphere, showing different rock or mineral types, created from images obtained by...