Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Dawn Spacecraft Reveals Secrets of Giant Asteroid Vesta

April 24, 2012

PASADENA, Calif. - Findings from NASA's Dawn spacecraft reveal new details about the giant asteroid Vesta, including its varied surface composition, sharp temperature changes and clues to its internal structure. The findings were presented today at the European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna, Austria, and will help scientists better understand the early solar system and processes that dominated its formation.

Images from Dawn's framing camera and visible and infrared mapping spectrometer, taken 420 miles (680 kilometers) and 130 miles (210 kilometers) above the surface of the asteroid, show a variety of surface mineral and rock patterns. Coded false-color images help scientists better understand Vesta's composition and enable them to identify material that was once molten below the asteroid's surface.

MORE, PHOTOS, & VIDEO: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-117&cid=release_2012-117&msource=12117

Aquilia Area in Color

gaw

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