ESO Image of the Week – New SPHERE View of Vesta
Sitting between Mars and Jupiter, the doughnut-shaped asteroid belt is packed full of rocky bodies and debris. Despite its fragmented, rubbly nature, the total mass…
Vesta
NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Completes Primary Mission
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft completes its primary mission, exceeding all expectations. On June 30, just in time for the global celebration known as Asteroid Day, NASA’s…
Gullies Suggest Water Flowed on the Surface of Vesta
A newly published study shows evidence that transient water flowed on the surface of Vesta, in a debris-flow-like process, and left distinctive geomorphologic features. Protoplanet…
How Asteroid Vesta May Have Gotten Its Deep Grooves
Using NASA’s ultra-high-speed cannon and computer models to simulate asteroid collisions, researchers from Brown University show how Vesta may have gotten the deep grooves that…
New Colorized Images of Vesta
New colorized images reveal geological structures on the surface of Vesta in unprecedented detail. Some beauty is revealed only at a second glance. When viewed…
NASA Finds an Unexpected Link Between Vesta and the Moon
New research has unveiled an unexpected link between Vesta and the moon and has helped scientists better understand the event known as the “Lunar Cataclysm.”…
Asteroid Impacts Leave Carbonaceous Material on Vesta
New images from NASA’s reveal that large impacts of asteroids may have altered Vesta’s shape and transferred carbonaceous material to the protoplanet and inner solar…
NASA’s Dawn Gets a Close Up View of the Canuleia Crater on Vesta
New data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft shows a close up of the Canuleia Crater on the asteroid Vesta, illustrating the structure of the interior of…
Troughs Suggest Vesta has Characteristics like a Planet or Large Moon
Using data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, scientists have been working hard to determine the story behind the enormous troughs that wrap around the giant asteroid…
Dawn Spacecraft Finds Traces of Water on Vesta
Vesta, the second most massive asteroid in the Solar System, after the dwarf planet Ceres, was thought to be a dry place, but the most…
NASA’s Dawn Mission Reveals Hydrated Minerals on Vesta
Two new papers based on observations from the low-altitude mapping orbit of the Dawn mission were recently published in the journal Science. One paper describes…
Dawn Leaves Vesta, NASA Releases Highlight Video of its Accomplishments
As NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has moves away from the giant asteroid Vesta and is now headed towards the dwarf planet Ceres, you can look back…
New Video Highlights Vesta’s Surface Composition in Many Colors
This animation of Vesta is made from images taken with Dawn’s framing camera. Many of the images were taken at different viewing angles to provide…
Dawn Mission Reveals the Inner Secrets of Vesta
Launched in 2007, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft began exploring the asteroid Vesta in 2011 and just provided researchers with the first orbital analysis of the giant…
NASA Confirms Extra Time for Dawn to Explore Vesta
The NASA Dawn mission is receiving 40 extra days to explore Vesta and scientists plan to make the most out of it. They hope to…
Dawn Images Shine New Light on Vesta
New images from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft have revealed previously unknown geological features about the asteroid Vesta. While Vesta is one of the brightest objects in…
Scientists Believe Water Ice May Exist on Vesta
Due to extreme cold and little sunlight near the north and south poles, scientists believe the giant asteroid Vesta could contain water ice that has…
NASA Probe Takes Close-Up Photos of Giant Vesta Asteroid
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has taken its first close-up images of the asteroid Vesta, revealing tons of new detail. Vesta is located in the asteroid belt…