archive / atlas record
Vesta
A differentiated asteroid with a vast impact basin.
- classification
- Large asteroid
- system
- Main asteroid belt
Vesta is one of the asteroid belt's largest bodies. Spacecraft observations and meteorites reveal a crust, mantle and iron-rich interior.
- Class
- Large asteroid
- Location / system
- Main asteroid belt
- Distance
- About 2.36 AU mean distance from the Sun
Only values with an established scientific consensus are listed. Where a quantity is uncertain or model-dependent, it is discussed in the sections below rather than stated as data.
Overview (starter entry, expanded review pending)
Vesta is one of the asteroid belt's largest bodies. Spacecraft observations and meteorites reveal a crust, mantle and iron-rich interior.
Trajectory, imaging and spectroscopy
Vesta's orbit or trajectory is measured over time; reflected-light observations constrain rotation, shape and composition where the signal permits.
- What remains least constrained about Vesta?Composition, internal structure, formation history or local environment can require different observations and may remain model-dependent.
Items above are unresolved. Hypotheses are labelled as such and are not presented as confirmed findings.
NASA // verified 28 September 2026
NASA/JPL // verified 28 September 2026