New research challenges the long-held belief that asteroid Vesta is a protoplanet. Scientists at Michigan State University ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

The debate over whether the giant asteroid Vesta has a moon could soon be decided. NASA's Dawn spacecraft will go into orbit in mid-July, when it will take the best-ever photographs of the big rock.

The large asteroid Vesta is a true relic of our Solar System's early history. Thanks to the recent detailed study by the Dawn spacecraft, we know it's an intact protoplanet, the type of object ...

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 ...

A NASA spacecraft is right on target for its year-long orbital encounter with the huge asteroid Vesta, which is set to begin next month. NASA's Dawn probe is now just 96,000 miles (155,000 ...

It’s a 3D printing of the asteroid Vesta — a piece which is the Field Museum’s newly classified meteorite, or a fallen space rock. Vesta is the brightest and the second largest 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 ...

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.