Nasa's Dawn probe orbits distant asteroid

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  • Vesta asteroid

    Vesta asteroid

    Nasa's Dawn spacecraft has sent back the first photo since it entered into orbit around the giant asteroid Vesta on Friday.

    The asteroid lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, 117 million miles from Earth.

    It took Dawn almost four years to reach Vesta and it will spend about a year studying the asteroid, which is thought to be the source of many meteors that have struck Earth. It will complete its mission by travelling to the dwarf planet Ceres.

    Nasa scientists will spend about three weeks getting the Dawn spacecraft accustomed to its new surroundings around Vesta before beginning its study of the giant asteroid in earnest.

    Here's the first photo of Vesta returned by Dawn after it reached orbit.

    Photo by: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • Anaglyph image of the asteroid Vesta

    Anaglyph image of the asteroid Vesta

    "We are beginning the study of arguably the oldest extant primordial surface in the solar system," said Dawn principal investigator Christopher Russell from the University of California, Los Angeles.

    This anaglyph image of the asteroid Vesta was taken on 9 July, 2011 by the framing camera instrument on board the Dawn spacecraft.

    Photo by: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • Vesta compared to other asteroids

    Vesta compared to other asteroids

    Vesta is about 300 miles in diameter with a surface area about the size of Arizona.

    Here is Vesta compared in size to other known rocks in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

    Vesta spins around once every five hours, 20 minutes. It's nearly spherical in shape with a huge chunk blasted from its south pole.

    Photo by: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/JAXA/ESA

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • Dawn in clean room at Nasa

    Dawn in clean room at Nasa

    Here's how Dawn looked in Nasa's "clean room" as it was being prepared for launch.

    Photo by: Nasa

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • Dawn probe blasts off

    Dawn probe blasts off

    A Delta II rocket sent Dawn on its journey on 27 September, 2007, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

    Photo by: Nasa

    Caption by: Andy Smith

  • Artist's impression of Dawn probe

    Artist's impression of Dawn probe

    This artist's impression shows what Dawn would look like as it moves between its two targets, Vesta and Ceres.

    This story originally appeared as Gallery: Dawn spacecraft orbits giant asteroid - first photo on ZDNet.com.

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    Photo by: Nasa

    Caption by: Andy Smith

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Vesta compared to other asteroids

Vesta is about 300 miles in diameter with a surface area about the size of Arizona.

Here is Vesta compared in size to other known rocks in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Vesta spins around once every five hours, 20 minutes. It's nearly spherical in shape with a huge chunk blasted from its south pole.

Caption by: Andy Smith

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