Dawn In Orbit - High Resolution Images of Vesta

Vesta – The First Image from the Orbiting Dawn Spacecraft Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JAXA/ESA

The Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around Vest at 7:00 PM Phoenix time last Friday. This navigation image is the first close up of Vesta from orbit. The image was taken from 16,000 kilometers. Vesta, the second largest asteroid in the solar system, dwarfs the nine other asteroids in this image. Lutetia, with a diameter of 130 kilometers, had been the largest asteroid visited by a spacecraft. Vesta is 530 kilometers in diameter.

Vesta – First Close Uo Image from the Orbiting Dawn Spacecraft Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JAXA/ESA

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