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Time of India
21-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Asteroid Vesta may be the last remaining fragment of a planet destroyed billions of years ago, according to scientists
Source: Asteroid Vesta , once thought to be a protoplanet that had been left behind in its formation, is now the subject of a groundbreaking investigation of what may be a remnant of a far larger planet that was present in the early solar system. New research, spearheaded by scientists at Michigan State University and published in Nature Astronomy in April 2025, challenges previous assumptions about Vesta being an embryonic planet, made based on observations from NASA's 2012 Dawn mission. The research instead suggests that Vesta may have been ejected from another, now-extinct planet in a massive collision some 4.5 billion years ago. Asteroid Vesta reveals surprising new insights about its structure The new research contradicts the old hypothesis that Vesta is an undifferentiated embryonic planet. Seth Jacobson, the lead author at Michigan State University, explained that the new data indicate the interior of Vesta is not in accordance with the fully differentiated planet model. This is an unusual interpretation of planetary science as it contradicts past research that suggested that Vesta might possess a dense metal core—a characteristic of differentiated planetary bodies. The research conclusions are based on precise gravity data obtained from the radio Doppler signals bounced back by the Dawn spacecraft. Using advanced calibration techniques, scientists found no sign of the metal-rich core that earlier research had indicated. The lack of core differentiation suggests that Vesta never existed as a fully formed planet. Instead, the evidence is for a scenario where Vesta is a fragment of a larger, older planet that was shattered in a gigantic collision billions of years ago. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Prince William & Kate Met Princess Diana's Secret Daughter. Plays Star Undo Vesta's volcanic features raise questions about its geologic origins However, Vesta's surface remains a mystery. The asteroid features evidence of volcanism, including a basaltic surface typical of bodies that have differentiated to a significant geological degree. But the absence of a differentiated interior calls into question the mechanism responsible for this activity. Jacobson assumes that Vesta could have experienced volcanic activity without complete differentiation, and this would mean that it retains some internal homogeneity that contradicts the earlier prediction for a planet-sized body. The study results offer a new explanation of the geologic features of Vesta. The volcano-formed surface of the asteroid may not be the result of a shared process of planetary evolution . Instead, Jacobson and co-workers propose that Vesta was created from a cataclysmic planetary impact-generated debris. According to this hypothesis, Vesta could have been created from a fully differentiated planet whose fragments now occupy the asteroid belt . Vesta's surprising features redefine planetary evolution This idea also paves the way for a broader theory: Vesta is merely one asteroid that is the product of such an impact. Other asteroids in the solar system could also be the remains of larger, disintegrated planets. This could be supported by future scans for gravity by NASA's Psyche mission and the European Space Agency's Hera mission, which are scheduled to find out more about asteroids and what planetary remains are made of. Vesta's makeup would imply a shared origin with Earth or other early planetary bodies. If that is the case, it would be a revolutionary break in asteroid science. Vesta's own features, such as its volcanic crust and lack of heavy core, contradict conventional thinking and imply that it might have had an earlier life in a more extensive planetary system, like early Earth or other terrestrial planets. What is Vesta Vesta is the second largest body in the asteroid belt and represents close to 9% of the total mass of all the asteroids in the belt. The only body smaller than it is Ceres, the largest asteroid in the asteroid belt, which is a dwarf planet. It was discovered by German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers in 1807. It was believed to be a piece of a planet that had been destroyed. It was the fourth to be discovered, and it was named by German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss after the Roman goddess of home and hearth. From July 2011 to September 2012, NASA's Dawn spacecraft orbited Vesta, accumulating critical data before heading to dwarf planet Ceres. Vesta is almost spherical and almost counted as a dwarf planet. Vesta is different from most other asteroids in that it is differentiated, i.e., it possesses a core, mantle, and crust, just like the terrestrial planets. Its surface exhibits the largest range of brightness of any solid solar system object, with dark spots believed to be residue of ancient asteroid impacts, and brighter areas made of native rocks. Also Read | Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to interact with students live from the ISS this June and conduct five additional experiments with NASA
Indian Express
19-05-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
Scientists say asteroid ‘Vesta' might be a piece of a planet that no longer exists
Asteroid Vesta, long considered to be a stalled protoplanet, may actually be just a fragment of a larger world that once existed in our solar system. New research suggests that Vesta may not have the dense core that differentiated planetary bodies usually have. Due to spin-rate data and gravity-field mapping, a new study by Michigan State University researchers published on April 23, in Nature Astronomy, has challenged previous assumptions that gave Vesta with the status of an embryonic planet based on NASA's 2012 Dawn mission. Instead, the study has suggested, Vesta may have been ejected from a different world in a massive collision that is estimated to have occurred 4.5 billion years ago. Vesta does not exactly fit the model of a planet, as per the study. The radio Doppler signals were refined using enhanced calibration techniques, confirming the lack of a metal-rich core that had been disputed by previous research. Seth Jacobson of Michigan State University, who led the research, stated that the new interpretation marks a major shift in planetary science. Although Vesta's volcanic, basaltic surface still shows signs of geological activity, its internal homogeneity defies what one might expect from a body that has undergone complete differentiation, Jacobson said. This paradox has caused scientists to reconsider the asteroid'sheritage. Vesta started to differentiate but never made much progress. However, howardite-eucrite-diogenites (HEDs), which are meteorites thought to have formed in Vesta, lack any evidence of this kind of incomplete differentiation. Instead, Jacobson and his team have claimed that their study supports the theory that Vesta was created by material that was blasted off of a fully formed planet during an ancient planetary collision. This theory might also explain Vesta's volcanic surface without requiring that it have a broad core, they said. The study raises doubts about Vesta's identification and also raises the prospect of a wider theory that other asteroids might also potentially be fragments of broken planets. This viewpoint may eventually be confirmed by the gravity investigations planned for the upcoming decades by NASA's Psyche and ESA's Hera missions. According to Jacobson, Vesta's makeup might even suggest that it shared an origin with Earth or other early planets, which might completely change the field of asteroid science. Vesta is the second most massive body in the main asteroid belt, accounting for almost nine per cent of the total mass of all asteroids. In that area of rocky debris between Mars and Jupiter, the only dwarf planet larger than it is Ceres. Vesta was discovered in Bremen, Germany, on March 29, 1807 by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers. He had also discovered Pallas (a large asteroid, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter). He believed, wrongly, that Ceres and Pallas were pieces of a destroyed planet and found Vesta while looking for more evidence. It was the fourth asteroid ever discovered. Upon discovery, Olbers let German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss name the asteroid. Gauss named the celestial body 'Vesta' after the Roman goddess of the hearth and home. From July 16, 2011 to September 5, 2012, NASA's Dawn spacecraft circled Vesta before leaving and beginning its mission to the dwarf planet Ceres. The giant asteroid is almost spherical, and was nearly classified as a dwarf planet. Unlike the majority of known asteroids, Vesta is differentiated. This means that it has separated into a core, mantle, and crust. The brightness range of Vesta is among the widest of any solid body in our solar system. While the black material is believed to have been material left behind by previous asteroids that crashed into Vesta, the light materials seem to be native rocks. (This article has been curated by Disha Gupta, who is an intern with the Indian Express)
India Today
30-04-2025
- Science
- India Today
Asteroid Vesta could be part of a lost world in our Solar System
Asteroid Vesta could be part of a lost world in our Solar System 30 Apr, 2025 Credit: Nasa Scientists once believed Vesta had a planet-like structure with a crust, mantle, and core, making it a protoplanet. New research led by NASA JPL and Michigan State University shows Vesta's interior is more uniform, lacking a distinct core. Two new hypotheses emerged: Vesta either underwent incomplete differentiation or is a fragment of a growing planet. Assistant Professor Seth Jacobson, once skeptical, now supports the idea Vesta could be debris from an ancient planetary collision. Unlike typical asteroids, Vesta's surface is volcanic, hinting at past melting processes, previously linked to core formation. Refined analysis of Dawn mission data revealed that Vesta's rotation and gravity don't match objects with dense cores. This discovery could reshape our understanding of asteroid belt objects and early planet formation in the solar system.
Newsweek
29-04-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
Asteroid Discovery Overturns Long-Held Belief
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Vesta, one of the two largest bodies in our solar system's asteroid belt, has long been thought to be more than just another asteroid. Scientists had concluded that it sported some fundamental properties of planets—a crust, mantle and core—making it a protoplanet that never reached full size. Given this, it was assumed that Vesta could provide a template for understanding what planets like the Earth looked like during their early development. However, a new study led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has overturned this assumption—revealing that Vesta's interior is far more uniform than expected. "The lack of a core was very surprising," said paper author and planetary scientist professor Seth Jacobson of the Michigan State University in a statement. "It's a really different way of thinking about Vesta." Stock image of Vesta Stock image of Vesta NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/ID The reason it was thought that Vesta was "differentiated"—that is, divided up into a crust, mantle and core—is that its surface is covered in volcanic, basaltic rocks. This suggested that Vesta went through a melting process that saw its metal sink to form a core. However, this hypothesis has been challenged by recent analyses of data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which orbited Vesta for 14 months back in 2011–12, both taking images of its surface and measuring its gravity field. "For years, conflicting gravity data from Dawn's observations of Vesta created puzzles," said paper author and JPL senior research scientist Ryan Park. However, nearly a decade of analytical refinements allowed the researchers to reconcile the different data sources and reveal Vesta's internal structure. By looking at Vesta's gravitational field, and how it rotates, the team were able to show that the body doesn't behave like it should if it had a core. "Our findings show Vesta's history is far more complex than previously believed," Park added. In the light of their findings, the researchers have two hypotheses that might explain Vesta's true identity. The first is the idea that Vesta may have begun the melting process that would have differentiated it into distinct layers—but never finished. Alternatively, Jacobson explains, it is conceivable that Vesta is a chunk that broke off of a growing planet in our solar system as the result of a collision billions of years ago. Materials ejected from such collisions would include, like Vesta, melting-derived rocky bodies without a core. "This idea went from a somewhat silly suggestion to a hypothesis that we're now taking seriously due to this re-analysis of NASA Dawn mission data," Jacobson said. Artist's impression of NASA's Dawn spacecraft. Artist's impression of NASA's Dawn spacecraft. NASA/JPL-Caltech For now, neither of the researchers' hypotheses have been explored enough to rule either of them out—but both do have issues that will require explanation, the team notes. Case in point: incomplete differentiation is hard to square with the meteorite samples originating from Vesta that researchers have collected. "We're really confident these meteorites came from Vesta—and these don't show obvious evidence of incomplete differentiation," Jacobson said. Meanwhile, the notion that some of the bodies in the asteroid belt are pieces ejected from the growing planets of the solar system is far from proven. Further analyses of the Dawn mission data, and new approaches applied to the study of Vesta meteorite samples, may provide more information. Regardless, the findings of the recent study could forever change how scientists view differentiated planets. "No longer is the Vesta meteorite collection a sample of a body in space that failed to make it as a planet," said Jacobson. "These could be pieces of an ancient planet before it grew to full completion. We just don't know which planet that is yet." Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about asteroids? Let us know via science@ Reference Park, R. S., Ermakov, A. I., Konopliv, A. S., Vaughan, A. T., Rambaux, N., Bills, B. G., Castillo-Rogez, J. C., Fu, R. R., Jacobson, S. A., Stewart, S. T., & Toplis, M. J. (2025). A small core in Vesta inferred from Dawn's observations. Nature Astronomy.
