Vesta

Vesta is one of the most massive objects orbiting in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Although Vesta is classified as an asteroid, its geological composition and geographical features resemble those of a planet.

Fast Facts

1. Official name: 4 Vesta
2. Discovered on March 29, 1807
3. Discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers
4. Named after the Roman goddess of the home and hearth
5. Diameter: 530 kilometers
6. Mass: 3.0x10²⁰ kilograms
7. Orbits the Sun in 3.64 of Earth's years¹
8. Photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope
9. Measurements rate it either the second or third most massive object in the Asteroid Belt²
10. Numerous impacts have sent meteorite fragments to Earth³
11. Will be studied by NASA's Dawn Mission

Unstable Ranking

The dwarf planet Ceres is undisputed as the largest object in the Asteroid Belt. But second and third place shifts between the two asteroids Vesta and Pallas. Both are very similar in size, and their distance from Earth makes accurate measurements difficult to obtain.²

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