Browse Archive

  • Enhanced-color views of the giant asteroid Vesta

    Pitted Terrain in Color

    These enhanced-color views from NASA's Dawn mission show an unusual "pitted terrain" on the floors of the craters named Marcia (left) and Cornelia (right) on the giant asteroid Vesta. The views show t...

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  • A distinctive

    Pitted Terrain on Mars and Vesta

    A distinctive "pitted terrain” observed by NASA's Dawn mission on Vesta has also been seen on Mars. The morphologies of pits are similar on both bodies, with irregular shapes and sharp angles where pi...

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  • Perspective view of Marcia crater on the giant asteroid Vesta

    Most Spectacularly Preserved Pitted Terrain on Vesta

    This perspective view of Marcia crater on the giant asteroid Vesta shows the most spectacularly preserved example of "pitted terrain," an unexpected discovery in data returned by NASA's Dawn mission. ...

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  • Hydrogen map of Vesta

    Hydrogen Map of Vesta

    This map from NASA's Dawn mission shows the global distribution of hydrogen on the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta. The hydrogen detected by Dawn's gamma ray and neutron detector instrument likely...

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  • Full view of Vesta

    Full View of 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 Septem...

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  • Topography of the northern and southern hemispheres of the giant asteroid Vesta

    Shape of Vesta

    This image from NASA's Dawn mission shows the topography of the northern and southern hemispheres of the giant asteroid Vesta, updated with pictures obtained during Dawn's last look back. Around the t...

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  • Mineral distribution in the southern hemisphere of the giant asteroid Vesta

    Mineral Diversity at Vesta's South Pole

    This image, made from data obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows the mineral distribution in the southern hemisphere of the giant asteroid Vesta. The mineral data came from Dawn's visible and infr...

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  • The giant asteroid Vesta is shown here as the smallest body among other similar bodies in the solar system - Mars, Mercury, Earth's moon and the dwarf planet Ceres

    Vesta in Perspective

    The giant asteroid Vesta is shown here as the smallest body among other similar bodies in the solar system: Mars, Mercury, Earth's moon and the dwarf planet Ceres. With Dawn's findings, Vesta is the o...

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  • Meteorites from Vesta

    Meteorites from Vesta

    This image shows three slices of a class of meteorites that fell to Earth that NASA’s Dawn mission has confirmed as originating from the giant asteroid Vesta. The meteorites, known as howardite, eucri...

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  • Vesta's internal structure

    Vesta's Internal Structure

    This artist's concept shows the internal structure of the giant asteroid Vesta, based on data from NASA's Dawn mission. Dawn shows that Vesta has an iron core that is about 68 miles (110 kilometers) i...

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  • This mosaic depicts a portion of Vesta imaged by NASA's Dawn spacecraft where pockets of bright materials are visible.

    Map of Bright Areas on Vesta

    This mosaic depicts a portion of Vesta imaged by NASA's Dawn spacecraft where pockets of bright materials are visible. Though Vesta is one of the brightest objects in the solar system, many spots on V...

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  • This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows the crater Numisia, located just south of the equator in the Numisia quadrangle on Vesta.

    Bright Material at Numisia Crater

    This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows the crater Numisia, located just south of the equator in the Numisia quadrangle on Vesta. Bright material appears in various forms on Vesta, and is mostly ...

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  • In this image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, bright material extends out from the crater Canuleia on Vesta.

    Bright Rays from Canuleia Crater

    In this image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, bright material extends out from the crater Canuleia on Vesta. The bright material appears to have been thrown out of the crater during the impact that creat...

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  • Numerous small, bright spots appear on Vesta, as seen in this image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft.

    Bright Spots Near Marcia

    Numerous small, bright spots appear on Vesta, as seen in this image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft. This region is just north of the equator, to the west of Marcia crater in the Marcia quadrangle. The sm...

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  • This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows the brightest area seen on Vesta so far.

    Extremely Bright Area

    This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows the brightest area seen on Vesta so far. It shows a crater located inside the rim of the Rheasilvia basin at the south pole of Vesta. The crater is on the ...

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  • This map is a mosaic of images obtained by NASA's Dawn's framing camera during the high-altitude mapping orbit phase.

    Map of Dark Materials on Vesta

    This map is a mosaic of images obtained by NASA's Dawn's framing camera during the high-altitude mapping orbit phase. The average altitude of this phase was 420 miles (680 kilometers).

    Th...

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  • This image of a dark-rayed impact crater and several dark spots was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft.

    Dark-Rayed Crater and Spots

    This image of a dark-rayed impact crater and several dark spots was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. The dark materials are located near an older, larger crater in the Sextilia quadrangle of Vesta'...

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  • The interplay of bright and dark material at the rim of Marcia crater on Vesta is visible in this image mosaic taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft.

    Bright and Dark at West Rim of Marcia Crater

    The interplay of bright and dark material at the rim of Marcia crater on Vesta is visible in this image mosaic taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. The brightness variation at Vesta is now known to be amo...

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  • This mosaic from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows dark material near a series of craters known as the

    Dark Materials at the Snowman

    This mosaic from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows dark material near a series of craters known as the "snowman" on Vesta. That ejected material is a complex mixture of components. They likely include both...

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  • This animation made from data obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows the topography of a portion of the wall and interior of the Rheasilvia impact basin (310 miles or 500 kilometers in diameter) in Vesta's south-polar region.

    Wall of Rheasilvia

    This animation made from data obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows the topography of a portion of the wall and interior of the Rheasilvia impact basin (310 miles or 500 kilometers in diameter) in ...

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