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 ...

For years, astronomers treated Vesta as more than just an asteroid. With its rocky surface, distinct layers, and volcanic history, it seemed to be a miniature version of Earth—something between a rock ...

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. A solar ...

Asteroid Vesta, once thought to be a protoplanet that had been left behind in its formation, is now the subject of a groundbreaking investigation of what may be a remnant of a far larger planet that ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. For decades, scientists thought that Vesta was a protoplanet ...

The correlation between gravity and gravity from shape, and effective density. Credit: Nature Astronomy (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-025-02533-7 For decades, scientists believed Vesta, one of the ...

All that snow we've had has been making it hard to get out and observe the heavens. This week's two most unusual sights are challenging ones even without snowbanks. But another heavenly sight- the ...

EAST LANSING, Mich. – For decades, scientists believed Vesta, one of the largest objects in our solar system’s asteroid belt, wasn’t just an asteroid. They concluded that Vesta has a crust, mantle and ...

Asteroid ‘Families’ Reveal Hidden Histories and Impact Risks across the Solar System ...

This big asteroid, called Vesta, doesn’t look THAT scary. Then again, it’s 300,000 miles away from the camera. I’m sure it’d look a whole lot scarier from, say, 30,000 miles away. And 3,000 miles away ...

Asteroids always get left out of the party. Send a spacecraft to Jupiter or Saturn or one of the solar system’s other glamor spots and the press will be all over you. But asteroids? Not so much.