Cosmic Scale
Vesta
Protoplanet in the asteroid belt · Asteroid belt
How big is Vesta?
Vesta is about 525 km across.
See Vesta in 3D, at true scale
Vesta is the second-largest body in the asteroid belt and the brightest asteroid in our sky. It is a surviving protoplanet: it melted and separated into a metal core and rocky crust, like a small planet that never finished growing.
At a glance
| Diameter | 525 km |
|---|---|
| Mass | 2.59 × 10²⁰ kg |
| Diameter compared with Earth | 0.041 × Earth |
| Size | About 525 km |
| Orbit | 3.6 years |
| Visited | Dawn, 2011–2012 |
| Big crater | Rheasilvia, 500 km wide |
Good to know
- The central peak of Rheasilvia is about 22 km high, one of the tallest mountains in the Solar System.
- About 1 in 20 meteorites that fall on Earth came from Vesta.
- It is the only asteroid sometimes bright enough to see with the naked eye.