Second-Largest Asteroid in the Solar System May Be an Ancient Piece From a Lost Planet, Claim Scientists
Space exploration and analysis have been moving forward at a rapid pace. Across decades, researchers have found updated information on several phenomena. New insights have again caused astronomers to challenge their previous beliefs. This time, the update has happened for Vesta, the second-largest asteroid in the solar system, stated Live Science. The new information has been described in detail within a study published in Nature Astronomy.
Experts believe that Vesta, along with three other objects, has been in existence for billions of years. The asteroid measures around 525 km in diameter. Before the study, researchers thought that Vesta was in the process of becoming a planet. However, this study challenges the long-held assertion. Data brought back by NASA's Dawn mission made the then-experts conclude that Vesta had a crust, mantle, and core. The findings made researchers focus on Vesta to understand how early planets formed, as well as determine how Earth looked in its initial stages. The new study, though, does not think that Vesta was a protoplanet at all.
The examinations conducted by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and experts from Michigan State University showcase that Vesta's internal structure was more uniform than what was previously believed, according to SciTech Daily. This team also took into consideration data found by the Dawn mission. Furthermore, they also did not find any distinct layers, which are typically present in a protoplanet. Though researchers are unsure why Vesta has these features, they have presented two solid theories.
The team believes that there is a chance that Vesta underwent incomplete differentiation. This implies that the body started the melting procedure needed to produce different layers like core, mantle, and crust, but the process was never completed. Another suggestion is that Vesta was a piece of a growing planet that broke apart for some reason.
As far as the same data producing different results is concerned, researchers explained that their team incorporated the moment of inertia in their findings, which the previous group didn't, according to Live Science. Experts claimed that Vesta's internal structure was determined in the past using gravity and shape data gathered by the Dawn mission. The data did support the different layer theory, but it did not oppose a more uniform surface hypothesis. Results after involving the moment of inertia were more bent towards the body having no layers.
Mass of Inertia is the amount of resistance shown by a body towards rotation. The calculation of this value involves the measurement of how mass is distributed from the core to the surface of a body. This measurement showcased that Vesta's surface is not layered. The results clearly indicated that there is a very small difference between what was believed to be the body's mantle and core, meaning that either there is no core, or even if it is present, it is very small in size.
The study clearly showcases that Vesta's history is far more complex than what was previously believed. It could involve incomplete differentiations as well as ill-timed collisions. More examination is needed to solve the mystery that is Vesta. "No longer is the Vesta meteorite collection a sample of a body in space that failed to make it as a planet," Paper co-author Seth Jacobson, an Assistant Professor in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Michigan State University, said. "These could be pieces of an ancient planet before it grew to full completion. We just don't know which planet that is yet."
If people want to spot the elusive object, they can do so on May 2, stated Space. Vesta will be orbiting debris between Mars and Jupiter. After this, it will again be in opposition to Earth on October 13, 2026.