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Dark Asteroids Streak Vesta's Surface With Carbon, NASA Probe Finds

The bright surface of Vesta – an asteroid so huge that some researchers consider it a dwarf planet or protoplanet – is peppered with carbon materials that are likely from "dark" asteroids that gently hit the surface, according to a new study.It's the first time researchers have found such extensive evidence of this type of asteroid material across a large body's surface.The study seeks to explain a curious pattern of materials that researchers saw in observations from the Dawn spacecraft , which orbited Vesta between July 2011 and September 2012."The earliest images we had of the surface — shortly after going into orbit — were sometimes spectacular examples of very bright and very dark material on the surface," said researcher Tom McCord of the Bear Fight Institute, a science research facility in Washington state. McCord is the lead author of a study reporting the findings that will be published in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Nature .Researchers looked at three scenarios —  that th...

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  1. NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Says Goodbye to Giant Asteroid Vesta

    NASA's Dawn probe has departed the huge asteroid Vesta, its orbital home for the past year, to begin a journey to its next destination: the dwarf planet Ceres.Dawn's...

  2. Giant Asteroid Vesta Surprisingly Covered in Hydrogen

    The protoplanet Vesta, a large space rock in the solar system's asteroid belt, is covered with a surprising amount of hydrogen, and bits of Vesta may have rained dow...

  3. Dawn Spacecraft Leaving Huge Asteroid Vesta Next Week

    NASA's Dawn probe is gearing up to depart the giant asteroid Vesta next week and begin the long trek to the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid be...

  4. NASA Video Reveals Huge Asteroid Vesta's Complex Surface

    A new video from a NASA spacecraft shows the huge asteroid Vesta's complex surface in dazzling and colorful detail.The video drapes high-resolution false color image...

  5. Dawn spacecraft to depart asteroid for dwarf planet

    One asteroid down, one to go.After spending a year gazing at Vesta, NASA's Dawn spacecraft was set to cruise toward the most massive space rock in the asteroid belt ...

  6. NASA Probe Gets Extended Stay at Huge Asteroid Vesta

    A robotic probe currently studying the giant asteroid Vesta is going into bonus rounds in the asteroid belt, with NASA clearing the spacecraft to spend 40 extra days...

  7. Space Rocks Vesta and Ceres Visible in Night Sky This Week

    On Sunday (Dec. 2), the giant planet Jupiter reached opposition with the sun, lining up directly opposite the sun in the sky. That means it's a great target for star...

  8. Giant Asteroid Vesta's Planetary Chances Killed by Jupiter

    Big, bad Jupiter likely squashed any chance the giant asteroid Vesta may have had of growing into a full-fledged planet long ago, researchers say.Scientists analyzin...

  9. NASA Spacecraft Enters Orbit Around Asteroid

    An unmanned NASA probe made history 117 million miles from Earth on Saturday, July 16, when it arrived at the huge asteroid Vesta, making it the first spacecraft eve...

  10. Dawn Spacecraft Gets Cozy With Massive Asteroid

    Scientists are busy poring over images of the massive asteroid Vesta, the first time it has been photographed up close.The Dawn spacecraft last month slipped into or...

  11. Rare Meteorites Born In Asteroid Crashes

    Rare, gem-studded meteorites that resemble stained-glass windows when backlit may have come from magnetic asteroids that splintered apart in ancient collisions, scie...

  12. How to Spot Asteroid Pallas With a Telescope this Week

    Although we read a lot about asteroids, most amateur astronomers have never seen one. This week, weather permitting, is a great opportunity to view one of the larges...

  1. Surprising Troughs on Asteroid Vesta Might Have Resulted From Collision

    Giant troughs that stretch across the asteroid Vesta may have formed after a fellow asteroid smacked into Vesta's south pole, researchers say.These findings add to e...

  2. Crater on Huge Asteroid Vesta Gets 3D Treatment

    A new 3D photo from NASA's Dawn spacecraft reveals a stunning glimpse inside a massive crater on the huge asteroid Vesta. The new image shows dark streaks of carbon-...

  3. New photos of asteroid Vesta reveal surprisingly bright spots

    A NASA spacecraft orbiting the huge asteroid Vesta has snapped amazing new photos of the colossal space rock, images that reveal strange features never-before-seen o...

  4. Shiny Asteroid Vesta Once Had Magnetic Personality

    Vesta, the brightest asteroid in the solar system, apparently possessed a magnetic field in its infancy that shielded it from the ravages of energetic particles from...

  5. Huge Asteroid Vesta Actually an Ancient Protoplanet

    New observations from a NASA spacecraft show that the huge asteroid Vesta is a battered protoplanet left over from the solar system's early days, with a unique mix o...

  6. NASA Readies for July Encounter With Massive Asteroid Vesta

    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...

  7. Mammoth asteroid Vesta got one-two crater-carving punch

    The giant asteroid Vesta got clobbered not once but twice, and it has the scars to prove it.Ever since the Hubble Space Telescope spied a huge depression in the aste...

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