Hubble Reveals Huge Crater on the Surface of the Asteroid Vesta

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A color-encoded elevation map of Vesta clearly shows the giant 285- mile diameter impact basin and "bull's-eye" central peak. The map was constructed from 78 Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 pictures. Surface topography was estimated by noting irregularities along the limb and at the terminator (day/night boundary) where shadows are enhanced by the low Sun angle.

Object Name: Vesta

Image Type: Astronomical

Credit: Ben Zellner (Georgia Southern University), Peter Thomas (Cornell University) and NASA

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Montage Image: Hubble Reveals Huge Crater on the Surface of the Asteroid Vesta Image Type: Astronomical/Illustration PRC1997-27 Vesta Image Type: Astronomical Computer Model of the Asteroid Vesta Image Type: Astronomical

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