4 Vesta
Second largest asteroid of the main asteroid belt / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Vesta (minor-planet designation: 4 Vesta) is one of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, with a mean diameter of 525 kilometres (326 mi).[10] It was discovered by the German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers on 29 March 1807[6] and is named after Vesta, the virgin goddess of home and hearth from Roman mythology.[19]
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers |
Discovery date | 29 March 1807 |
Designations | |
(4) Vesta | |
Pronunciation | /ˈvɛstə/[1] |
Named after | Vesta |
Main belt (Vesta family) | |
Adjectives |
|
Symbol | (historically astronomical, now astrological) |
Orbital characteristics[6] | |
Epoch 13 September 2023 (JD 2453300.5) | |
Aphelion | 2.57 AU (384 million km) |
Perihelion | 2.15 AU (322 million km) |
2.36 AU (353 million km) | |
Eccentricity | 0.0894 |
3.63 yr (1325.86 d) | |
Average orbital speed | 19.34 km/s |
169.4° | |
Inclination | 7.1422° to ecliptic 5.58° to invariable plane[7] |
103.71° | |
26 December 2021[8] | |
151.66° | |
Satellites | None |
Earth MOID | 1.14 AU (171 million km) |
Proper orbital elements[9] | |
Proper semi-major axis | 2.36151 AU |
Proper eccentricity | 0.098758 |
Proper inclination | 6.39234° |
Proper mean motion | 99.1888 deg / yr |
Proper orbital period | 3.62944 yr (1325.654 d) |
Precession of perihelion | 36.8729 (2343 years) arcsec / yr |
Precession of the ascending node | −39.5979 (2182 years) arcsec / yr |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 572.6 km × 557.2 km × 446.4 km[10] |
Mean diameter | 525.4±0.2 km[10] |
Flattening | 0.2204 |
(8.66±0.2)×105 km2[lower-alpha 2][11] | |
Volume | 7.4970×107 km3[10] |
Mass | (2.590271±0.000058)×1020 kg[12] |
Mean density | 3.456±0.035 g/cm3[10] |
Equatorial surface gravity | 0.25 m/s2 0.025 g |
Equatorial escape velocity | 0.36 km/s |
0.2226 d (5.342 h)[6][13] | |
Equatorial rotation velocity | 93.1 m/s[lower-alpha 3] |
29° | |
North pole right ascension | 20h 32m[lower-alpha 4] |
North pole declination | 48°[lower-alpha 4] |
0.423[15] | |
Temperature | min: 75 K (−198 °C) max: 250 K (−23 °C)[16] |
V[6][17] | |
5.1[18] to 8.48 | |
3.20[6][15] | |
0.70″ to 0.22″ | |
Vesta is thought to be the second-largest asteroid, both by mass and by volume, after the dwarf planet Ceres.[20][21][22] Measurements give it a nominal volume only slightly larger than that of Pallas (about 5% greater), but it is 25% to 30% more massive. It constitutes an estimated 9% of the mass of the asteroid belt.[23] Vesta is the only known remaining rocky protoplanet (with a differentiated interior) of the kind that formed the terrestrial planets.[24][25][26] Numerous fragments of Vesta were ejected by collisions one and two billion years ago that left two enormous craters occupying much of Vesta's southern hemisphere.[27][28] Debris from these events has fallen to Earth as howardite–eucrite–diogenite (HED) meteorites, which have been a rich source of information about Vesta.[29][30][31]
Vesta is the brightest asteroid visible from Earth. It is regularly as bright as magnitude 5.1,[18] at which times it is faintly visible to the naked eye. Its maximum distance from the Sun is slightly greater than the minimum distance of Ceres from the Sun,[lower-alpha 5] although its orbit lies entirely within that of Ceres.[32]
NASA's Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around Vesta on 16 July 2011 for a one-year exploration and left the orbit of Vesta on 5 September 2012[33] en route to its final destination, Ceres. Researchers continue to examine data collected by Dawn for additional insights into the formation and history of Vesta.[34][35]