Facts about Vesta
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Classified as a protoplanet, Vesta is one of the few surviving remnants of the original rocky bodies that accreted during the early formation of the solar system.
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Scientists estimate that Vesta's differentiated interior structure, with distinct crust, mantle, and iron core layers, formed within the first 2-3 million years of the solar system's existence 4.56 billion years ago.
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Approximately 6 percent of meteorites that fall to Earth originate from Vesta, identified through spectroscopic analysis matching their composition to the asteroid's basaltic surface.
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Vesta's south polar region contains the Veneneia crater, an older and larger impact basin than Rheasilvia that scientists believe formed approximately 2 billion years ago.
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Vesta's iron core comprises approximately 20 percent of the asteroid's total mass, making it unusually dense compared to other asteroids in the solar system.
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Vesta's rapid rotation causes it to complete one full spin every 5.34 hours, making it one of the fastest-rotating asteroids in the solar system.
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Dawn spacecraft's 2011-2012 orbital mission revealed that Vesta's surface composition includes basaltic material similar to meteorites that have fallen to Earth.
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Massive impact basins scarring Vesta's surface reveal that a giant collision 1 billion years ago nearly destroyed the asteroid, creating the Rheasilvia crater measuring 500 kilometers across.
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In 1807, Heinrich Olbers discovered Vesta, which remains the only asteroid visible to the naked eye from Earth under ideal conditions.
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The second-largest asteroid, Vesta, orbits the Sun every 3.63 years and has a mean diameter of 525 kilometers.