Vesta, with a diameter of between 460 and 580 kilometres, is the third largest asteroid. It rotates around its own axis in five hours and 20 minutes, and requires 3.6 Earth years to complete an orbit ...

Since entering orbit last month, Dawn has taken more than 500 images Vesta's southern section is dominated by a giant crater The northern side is filled with older craters including three that ...

The majority of asteroids orbit the Sun in the main asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter. Their sizes vary significantly, from Vesta—the largest, measuring about 329 miles (530 kilome ...

A team of astronomers has spent over a decade tracing meteorite impacts on Earth back to their original sources in the ...

Where do meteorites of different types come from? In a review paper in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science, ...

The ESO's Very Large Telescope provided crucial data needed to calculate the asteroid's orbit. The potential risk of Asteroid 2024 YR4 impacting Earth in 2032 dropped to nearly zero following new ...

The Hera probe has swung around Mars, using the planet’s gravitational pull to fling itself toward its asteroid target.

Where do meteorites of different type come from? In a review paper, astronomers trace the impact orbit of observed meteorite falls to several previously unidentified source regions in the asteroid ...

Astronomers have sent artificial satellites (satellites that are manmade) to orbit several Solar System objects, including Jupiter, the asteroid Vesta and Mars. Polar orbits take the satellites ...