Browse Archive

  • This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a close-up view of the wall of the Rheasilvia impact basin on Vesta.

    Close-up of Rheasilvia's Wall

    This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a close-up view of the wall of the Rheasilvia impact basin on Vesta. Rheasilvia, which is 310 miles or 500 kilometers in diameter, dominates southern Vesta...

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  • This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a young crater on Vesta that is 9 miles (15 kilometers) in diameter.

    Layered Young Crater

    This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a young crater on Vesta that is 9 miles (15 kilometers) in diameter. Layering is visible in the crater walls, as are large boulders that were thrown out in...

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  • This image, made from data obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows a perspective view of a layered young crater in the Rheasilvia basin at Vesta.

    Perspective View of Layered Young Crater

    This image, made from data obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows a perspective view of a layered young crater in the Rheasilvia basin at Vesta. (It is the same crater as Fig. 3.) It was created fr...

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  • This image, from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows rock material that has moved across the surface and flowed into a low area in the ridged floor of the Rheasilvia basin on Vesta.

    Flowing Material

    This image, from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows rock material that has moved across the surface and flowed into a low area in the ridged floor of the Rheasilvia basin on Vesta. The image shows how impa...

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  • This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows an interior wall and southern terrace of Marcia crater on Vesta.

    Wall and Terrace at Marcia Crater

    This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows an interior wall and southern terrace of Marcia crater on Vesta. Relatively smooth material covers much of the terrace and has flowed downslope (toward the...

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  • This mosaic of the surface of Vesta was made from images obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on Feb. 5, 2012, while the area was entirely in the sun's shadow.

    Northern Shadow

    This mosaic of the surface of Vesta was made from images obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on Feb. 5, 2012, while the area was entirely in the sun's shadow. Light reflecting off of other areas of Ves...

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  • Dawn FC (framing camera) image that is overlain by a color-coded height representation of topography

    A Valentine from Vesta

    This image is based on a Dawn FC (framing camera) image that is overlain by a color-coded height representation of topography. The topography is calculated from a set of images that were observed from...

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  • Asteroid Vesta

    Crater in Shadow on Vesta

    This image, one of the first obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft in its low altitude mapping orbit, shows part of the rim of a fresh crater on the giant asteroid Vesta. The terrain shown here is locate...

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  • Asteroid Vesta

    Contrasting Deposits on Vesta

    This image, one of the first obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft in its low altitude mapping orbit, shows an area within the Rheasilvia basin in the south polar area of the giant asteroid Vesta. In thi...

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  • Asteroid Vesta

    Trough in Dark and Bright on Vesta

    This image, one of the first obtained by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft in its low altitude mapping orbit, shows a part of one of the troughs at the equator of the giant asteroid Vesta. In the image, the floo...

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  • Asteroid Vesta

    Buried Craters on Vesta

    This image, one of the first obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft in its low altitude mapping orbit, shows many buried craters located within the equatorial trough region of the giant asteroid Vesta. It...

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  • Asteroid Vesta

    Closer and Closer to the Vesta Surface

    NASA's Dawn spacecraft has spiraled closer and closer to the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta. These images were obtained by Dawn's framing camera in the three phases of its campaign since arriving...

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  • Asteroid Vesta

    Dawn Orbiting Over Vesta

    This image of the giant asteroid Vesta was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft in the evening Nov. 27 PST (early morning Nov. 28, UTC), as it was spiraling down from its high altitude mapping orbit to ...

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  • Artist's concept shows NASA's Dawn spacecraft orbiting the giant asteroid Vesta

    Dawn Orbiting Vesta

    This artist's concept shows NASA's Dawn spacecraft orbiting the giant asteroid Vesta. The depiction of Vesta is based on images obtained by Dawn's framing cameras.

    Dawn's mission to Vesta...

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  • Asteroid Vesta in a rainbow-colored palette

    Asteroid Vesta in a 'Rainbow-Colored Palette'

    This image using color data obtained by the framing camera aboard NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows Vesta's southern hemisphere in color, centered on the Rheasilvia formation. Rheasilvia is an impact basin...

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  • Full view of the giant asteroid Vesta

    Capturing the Surface of Asteroid Vesta

    This full view of the giant asteroid Vesta was taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, as part of a rotation characterization sequence on July 24, 2011, at a distance of 3,200 miles (5,200 kilometers). A rot...

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  • Vesta, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft

    A Closeup View of the Giant Asteroid Vesta.

    In this image of Vesta, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft just shortly before the beginning of high altitude mapping orbit, north is up and the upper right corner is to the northeast. The spacecraft's d...

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  • Asteroid Vesta, calculated from a shape model

    Oblique View of Vesta's South Polar Region

    This image of the asteroid Vesta, calculated from a shape model, shows a tilted view of the topography of the south polar region. The image has a resolution of about 1,000 feet (300 meters) per pixel,...

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  • High cliffs at Vesta's south pole

    High Cliffs at Vesta's South Pole

    The south pole of the giant asteroid Vesta reveals cliffs that are several miles or kilometers high, deep grooves, and craters. How this wild scenery formed is not yet clear to the scientists of the D...

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  • False-color image shows proof of an impact

    False-Color Image Shows Proof of an Impact

    This false-color image obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a crater on the giant asteroid Vesta. The reddish coloring below the crater points to material that was hurled from Vesta's interior dur...

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