On the asteroid Vesta, someone dug mines!

They found a long trough of unknown origin.

Probe Dawn («Dawn") continues to explore and photograph the asteroid Vesta. The spacecraft approached him about a month ago. It was a momentous event in the study of the universe. After all, never probe from Earth did not become an artificial satellite of asteroid.

Recall that the West - is a giant denizen of the Main asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. The average diameter of Vesta is about 530 kilometers. Under this option, it is second only to Pallas, who wears the title of the largest asteroid (average diameter of 532 kilometers). However, the mass of Vesta Pallas superior, being the heaviest asteroid. Such large bodies were created in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, about four billion years ago, ie in the early stages of the solar system. Therefore, astronomers, and it is interesting: Vesta may shed light on many mysteries of the universe.

July 19 "Dawn" made the first detailed picture of the ward. August 3 at the new close-up photographs of the testers, hoping to find signs of life on an asteroid in the form of the presence of water, suddenly saw a clear figure of "snow woman." Although, of course, it was only three nearby crater, which is covered with the surface of Vesta. Each of them is smaller than the other, because of what the picture really looks like from afar, "snowman".

And today once again surprised the scientists probe. First, before they were confident that the 460-kilometer crater at the south pole of Vesta - the trace of a collision with another celestial body. At least so it seemed in the study of images taken orbiting telescope Hubble.

It is assumed that as a result of the impact fragments were part of the asteroid belt, in part - in interplanetary space, and even appeared on Earth as meteorites. However, a probe made ​​by "Dawn" close-ups show that the giant plain do not like a typical impact crater: a wall of rock thrown around only half its circumference, and the center is not a conical elevation, a rounded hill, reports rnd.cnews.ru.

Second, it seems very strange series of long trenches that surround the equator of Vesta. This is not seen on any other celestial body, and what impact could cause such an effect is not explained.

Chief investigator Chris Russell Dawn believes that this puzzle can be solved in October, after the interplanetary probe will come to the West Side at the closest distance and give clear images and maps of gravitational forces.

Also, planetary scientists are hoping that Dawn would explain why Vesta is the brightest asteroid, reflecting up to 40% of sunlight, and the reason for some of its brighter than others.