The giant asteroid Vesta looks like a protoplanet

Mineral distribution in the southern hemisphere of the giant asteroid Vesta (Image NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/INAF/MPS/DLR/IDA)
Mineral distribution in the southern hemisphere of the giant asteroid Vesta (Image NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/INAF/MPS/DLR/IDA)

NASA’s space probe Dawn is allowing scientists to know the giant asteroid Vesta better and better. A few weeks ago a lot of information were presented about the surface of Vesta and further analysis suggests more than ever that it’s not simply an asteroid but a protoplanet.

During the period of the birth of the solar system, probably a lot of protoplanets formed: some of them coalesced into bigger bodies, some clashed into each other, maybe some ended up into the Sun and instead some others outside the solar system. In time, eventually today’s planets formed but between Mars and Jupiter the gas giant’s gravitational interference prevented the formation of an extra planet, creating the asteroid belt.

The giant asteroid Vesta can be seen as a kind of fossil from that chaotic time. Without the presence of Jupiter, it could have kept on attracting more small asteroids and perhaps it would’ve merged with Ceres, the dwarf planet which is the largest object in the asteroid belt.

Instead, Vesta is still so small that it’s not even considered a dwarf planet. Recent studies, however, could change scientists’ minds because studies carried out by the the Dawn spacecraft show that Vesta has such features that could have its classification changed.

Vesta is in fact an object with a layered structure which has an iron core. Its complexity can be attributed to the same geological process that led to the formation of the Earth and the Moon and has separated its core from its mantle and crust.

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It’s possible that in ancient times Vesta had an underground layer of molten magma, which occurs when a celestial body undergoes a violent bombardment by asteroids and meteorites.

Rocks from Vesta also fell on the Earth and it was possible to identify them by comparing the characteristics of the minerals contained in them with those present on the surface of Vesta, in particular the pyroxene, a type of mineral rich in iron and magnesium.

The latest analyzes also allowed scientists to better study Vesta’s south pole. Scientists believe that the basin called Rheasilvia was created by an impact about a billion years ago but close to it there’s another basin called Veneneia that may have been created about two billion years ago by a previous impact.

Recognizing Vista as protoplanet makes studying it even more important because it gives us even more precise idea about ​​the early stages of the Earth’s formation.

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