Solar System, technical/Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is between 2 and 3.2 astronomical units from the Sun.
Vesta
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- diameter= 530 kilometres
- features= Veneneia basin
Vesta may have been melted 4.5 mya and it is believed to once have volcanic activity.[1] Smaller asteroids may have deposited carbon material to Vesta, contrasting its bright color.[1]
Vesta doesn't have enough gravity to form it into a complete sphere, which is why it is not a dwarf planet.
The Dawn spacecraft has visited Vesta as one of its objectives.
Main belt comets
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These are comets that are within the asteroid belt. Only a handful of main belt asteroids have been discovered. It is uncertain what causes these objects to have a trail, but this event only occurs for a few days at a time.[2]
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Carbon in Vesta's craters, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, 2013
- ↑ Discovering the birth of an asteroid trail, Plataforma SINC, 2013