Solar System, technical/Asteroid belt

< Solar System, technical

The asteroid belt is between 2 and 3.2 astronomical units from the Sun.

Vesta

Vesta

Vesta may have been melted 4.5 mya and it is believed to once have volcanic activity.[1] Smaller asteroids may have deposited carbon material to Vesta, contrasting its bright color.[1]

Vesta doesn't have enough gravity to form it into a complete sphere, which is why it is not a dwarf planet.

The Dawn spacecraft has visited Vesta as one of its objectives.

Main belt comets

Main belt comet P/2010 A2. Its base is 140 meters across.

These are comets that are within the asteroid belt. Only a handful of main belt asteroids have been discovered. It is uncertain what causes these objects to have a trail, but this event only occurs for a few days at a time.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Carbon in Vesta's craters, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, 2013, http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/01/03/carbon.vestas.craters
  2. ↑ Discovering the birth of an asteroid trail, Plataforma SINC, 2013, http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/02/21/discovering.birth.asteroid.trail
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