Who discovered 4 Vesta and when was it found?
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers discovered 4 Vesta on the 29th of March 1807 in the constellation Virgo. This discovery marked the fourth object found in what we now call the asteroid belt.
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers discovered 4 Vesta on the 29th of March 1807 in the constellation Virgo. This discovery marked the fourth object found in what we now call the asteroid belt.
NASA's Dawn spacecraft determined the mass of 4 Vesta to be 2.5905 × 10^20 kilograms. Previous estimates from 1966 and 2001 had already calculated this value using gravitational perturbations of other asteroids.
The Rheasilvia impact basin has a width that is 95% of the mean diameter of 4 Vesta and extends about 50 kilometers deep. A central peak rises 13 kilometers above the lowest measured part of the crater floor within this structure.
NASA's Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around 4 Vesta on the 16th of July 2011 for a one-year exploration period. The spacecraft left the orbit of 4 Vesta on the 5th of September 2012 en route to its final destination, Ceres.
Over 1200 HED meteorites including howardite, eucrite, and diogenite samples originate from 4 Vesta. These Vestan achondrites provide insight into the asteroid's geologic history and confirm that the surface composition matches these meteorite types.