The crater is big! If the Earth had a crater like that it would be as big as the Pacific Ocean!
The crater was made when something hit Vesta a long time ago. When the asteroid was hit rocks were thrown out into space. Scientists think that some of this rock fell to the Earth's surface. These rocks from outer space are called meteorites.
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The crater really is gigantic when compared to the size of the asteroid Vesta. If Earth had a crater of proportional size, it would fill most of the Pacific Ocean! Something large impacted Vesta a long time ago. Vesta lost over half a million cubic miles of rock during the impact. These rocks were thrown out into space. Scientists think that some of this rock fell to the Earth's surface. These rocks from outer space are what we call meteorites. We don't know where most meteorites come from. So it is exciting for scientists to know that Vesta might be the source of some meteorites.
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Something large impacted Vesta long ago. In fact, the impact gouged out one percent of the asteroid's initial volume. This means that over half a million cubic miles of rock were thrown out into space. About six percent of meteorites that are found on Earth have a similar composition to that of Vesta. The impact that caused the crater on Vesta may be the original source of many of these meteorites. Scientists are excited about this discovery. "This is a unique opportunity to study the effects of a large impact
on a small object," says Michael Gaffey of Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, Troy, New York. "This suggests that more asteroids from the
early days of the solar system may still be intact."
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Last modified prior to September, 2000 by the Windows Team
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