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Vesta

4 Vesta

Minor Planet Designation4 Vesta
Asteroid GroupMain Asteroid Belt (Vesta Family)
Orbital Period3.6 years
Distance from the SunSemi-Major Axis: 353,299,000 km (2.36 AU)
Perihelion: 322,085,000 km (2.15 AU)
Aphelion: 384,514,000 km (2.57 AU)
Eccentricity0.0884
Diameter (Mean)525.4 kilometres
NotesOne of the largest asteroids, Vesta was at one time larger still, but significant impact events in the distant past ejected large fragments of the asteroid into space, and left two major impact craters (named Rheasilvia and Veneneia) near its southern pole.

Vesta is the second largest asteroid known, after Ceres. Its surface is much lighter than either of its larger siblings, though, making it the brightest of all the asteroids. At times, it approaches the verge of naked eye visibility, the only asteroid to do so.

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