Vesta won't reach opposition with Earth again until Oct. 13, 2026. On Friday, May 2 the asteroid Vesta will reach opposition, marking the ideal period to spot the second largest asteroid orbiting ...

Here’s how it works. This composite-color view from NASA's Dawn mission shows Cornelia Crater, streaked with dark materials, on the giant asteroid Vesta This map shows the distribution of dark ...

Astronomers are using data from the recently decommissioned star-mapping satellite to help determine masses and more accurate ...

Vesta, one of the two largest bodies in our solar system's asteroid belt, has long been thought to be more than just another asteroid. Scientists had concluded that it sported some fundamental ...

The giant asteroid Vesta may contain a vast supply of water ice, a supply that has sat frozen for billions of years, a new study reveals. The surface of Vesta — the second-largest object in the ...

Michigan State University. (2025, April 28). New research shatters long-held beliefs about asteroid Vesta. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 27, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2025 / 04 ...

South polar region of the giant asteroid Vesta. NASA/jPL-Caltech/Getty Images When the detection of the asteroid was announced last month, NASA predicted just a 1.3% probability of it hitting Earth.

On Friday, May 2 the asteroid Vesta will reach opposition, marking the ideal period to spot the second largest asteroid orbiting in the rocky belt of debris located between Mars and Jupiter.

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An image of Vesta captured as NASA's Dawn spacecraft retreated from the asteroid in 2012.