4 Vesta

E294774

4 Vesta is one of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, a differentiated protoplanet whose composition and geology have made it a key target for studying early solar system formation.

All labels observed (3)

Label Occurrences
Vesta 4
4 Vesta canonical 2
asteroid Vesta 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (58)

Predicate Object
instanceOf asteroid
differentiated body
main-belt asteroid
minor planet
protoplanet
absoluteMagnitude about 3.2
albedo relatively high
aphelionDistance about 2.57 AU
belongsTo asteroid belt
belongsToDynamicalFamily Vesta family
canBeSeenFromEarthWith small binoculars
canReachApparentMagnitude about 5.1
coordinateSystem IAU-defined Vesta coordinate system
DawnArrivalDate 2011-07-16
DawnDepartureDate 2012-09-05
density about 3.4 g/cm³
discoverer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers
discoveryDate 1807-03-29
eccentricity about 0.089
equatorialDiameter about 578 km
flybyOrOrbiter orbited by Dawn
formationEpoch early solar system
geologicActivity no current volcanism
hasCore metallic core
hasCrust basaltic crust
hasDifferentiatedInterior true
hasImpactBasin Rheasilvia
Veneneia
hasMantle rocky mantle
hasTectonicFeatures troughs and grooves
inclination about 7.1 degrees
isSourceOf HED meteorites
diogenite meteorites
eucrite meteorites
howardite meteorites
mass about 2.6×10^20 kg
meanDiameter about 525 km
minorPlanetNumber 4
mpcDesignation 4 Vesta
namedAfter Roman goddess of the hearth
Vesta
orbitalPeriod about 1325 Earth days
about 3.63 years
orbits Sun
perihelionDistance about 2.15 AU
polarDiameter about 458 km
rankByMassInAsteroidBelt second most massive asteroid
rankBySizeInAsteroidBelt one of the largest asteroids
RheasilviaCentralPeakHeight about 20–25 km
RheasilviaDiameter about 500 km
rotationPeriod about 5.34 hours
scientificSignificance key object for studying planetary differentiation
semiMajorAxis about 2.36 AU
spectralType V-type asteroid
surfaceComposition basaltic rock
pyroxene-rich material
visitedBy Dawn spacecraft
linked to: Dawn mission
visitedByAgency NASA

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (7)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Dawn primaryTarget 4 Vesta
subject linked to: Dawn mission
Dawn studied asteroid Vesta
subject linked to: Dawn mission
linked to: 4 Vesta
Dawn enteredOrbitAround Vesta
subject linked to: Dawn mission
linked to: 4 Vesta
Pluto sibling Vesta
linked to: 4 Vesta
Pluto sibling Vesta
linked to: 4 Vesta
4 Vesta mpcDesignation 4 Vesta
Christopher T. Russell ledMissionTo Vesta
linked to: 4 Vesta