Veneneia (crater)

This article is about the crater on 4 Vesta. For the vestal virgin Veneneia, see vestal virgins.

Veneneia /vɛnɪˈniːə/ is the second-largest impact crater on asteroid 4 Vesta, at 52°S latitude. 395 kilometres (245 mi)^[1] in diameter, it is 70% of the equatorial diameter of the asteroid, and one of the largest craters in the Solar System. It is at least 2 billion years old, and possibly as old as 4.2 billion years.^[2] However, it is overlain and partially obliterated by the even larger Rheasilvia. It was discovered by the Dawn spacecraft in 2011. It is named after Venēneia, one of the founding vestal virgins.^[3]

Outline of Rheasilvia (top center), with Veneneia (bottom center) underlying it

Vesta has a series of troughs in the northern hemisphere concentric to Veneneia. These are believed to be large-scale fractures resulting from the impact. The largest is Saturnalia Fossae, approx. 39 km wide and > 400 km long.^[4]