Geologic mapping of Vesta

Geologic mapping of Vesta

We report on a preliminary global geologic map of Vesta, based on data from the Dawn spacecraft’s HighAltitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) and informed by Low-Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO) data. This map is part of an iterative mapping effort; the geologic map has been refined with each improvement in resolution. Vesta has a heavily-cratered surface, with large craters evident in numerous locations. T...

Introduction: The geologic mapping of Vesta

Imprint of the Rheasilvia impact on Vesta – Geologic mapping of quadrangles Gegania and Lucaria

We produced two 1:250,000 scale geologic maps of the adjacent quadrangles Av-6 Gegania and Av-7 Lucaria, located in the equatorial region of (4) Vesta (0–144 E, 22 S to 22 N). The mapping is based on clear and color filter images of the Framing Camera (FC) onboard the Dawn spacecraft, which has captured the entire illuminated surface of Vesta with high spatial resolution (up to 20 m/pixel), and...

Geologic mapping of ejecta deposits in Oppia Quadrangle, Asteroid (4) Vesta

Oppia Quadrangle Av-10 (288–360 E, ±22 ) is a junction of key geologic features that preserve a rough history of Asteroid (4) Vesta and serves as a case study of using geologic mapping to define a relative geologic timescale. Clear filter images, stereo-derived topography, slope maps, and multispectral color-ratio images from the Framing Camera on NASA’s Dawn spacecraft served as basemaps to cr...

The Complicated Geologic History of Asteroid 4 Vesta

Planetary scientists are pretty sure that almost all of the HED meteorites come from the fourth-largest asteroid, 4 Vesta. HED stands for the three types of rocks that make up the group. As cosmochemists have studied the meteorites over the years, their view of the geologic history of the asteroid has become progressively more complicated. Jean-Alix Barrat and Marcel Bohn (CNRS and University o...