Skip Navigation

Resources

Ejecta from Vesta's 'Snowman' Craters

Ejecta from Vesta's 'Snowman' Craters
Photojournal: PIA15086
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
Published: November 21, 2011

This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows ejecta from two of the large "Snowman" craters on the left of the image. This ejecta smooths out asteroid Vesta's surface in the rest of the image.

Related

With its dazzling rings, Saturn radiates a beauty and splendor like no other known world. Here, Cassini has captured the cool crescent of Saturn from above the ringplane, with the planet's shadow c...
More
Saturn from above the ringplane
Shadowlands
This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a surface with many craters and linear chains of small craters that merge into ridges on the giant asteroid Vesta.
More
Unusual Crater Chains and Ridges
Unusual Crater Chains and Ridges
Herschel Crater features prominently on the moon Mimas in this Cassini spacecraft image, which gives the impression of an eye staring out into space. Herschel Crater is about 130 kilometers, or 81...
More
Mimas
Staring Into Space
This almost surreal view of Iapetus was acquired by Cassini about 10 minutes after the spacecraft's closest approach to the icy moon during a close flyby on New Year's Eve 2004.
More
This almost surreal view of Iapetus was acquired by Cassini about 10 minutes after the spacecraft's closest approach to the icy moon during a close flyby on New Year's Eve 2004.
Iapetus by Saturn Shrine
Dione looms large before the rings of Saturn. Atlas (32 kilometers, or 20 miles across) can be spotted to the lower left of the larger moon, peeking out from behind the rings. This view looks tow...
More
Saturn's Ring with Dione and Atlas
Inclined Dione
The first Kuiper Belt Object -- 1992 QB1 -- was discovered in 1992 by American astronomers David Jewitt and Janet Luu using the 2.2-m telescope at Mauna Kea in Hawaii. 
More
The first Kuiper Belt Object -- 1992 QB1 -- was discovered in 1992 by American astronomers David Jewitt and Janet Luu using the 2.2-m telescope at Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
1992 QB1
High-mass stars are important because they are responsible for much of the energy pumped into our galaxy over its lifetime. 
More
Color image of nebula
The 'Pacman Nebula'
Seeing in the Dark December 8, 2004 Full-Res: PIA06146 New details on Iapetus are illuminated by reflected light from Saturn in th...
More
Seeing in the Dark
Seeing in the Dark
With its thick, distended atmosphere, Titan's orange globe shines softly, encircled by a thin halo of purple light-scattering haze. Images taken using blue, green and red spectral filters were use...
More
Titan
Titan's Halo
Prometheus tugs icy particles from the F ring into fanciful shapes like ropes of glowing neon. Although Prometheus (86 kilometers, or 53 miles across) is overexposed here, the moon's irregular out...
More
Prometheus and Saturn's rings
The Ringsmith
The long shadow of a small moon cuts across Saturn's A ring and thin F ring in this image taken as the planet approached its August 2009 equinox. The moon Epimetheus (113 kilometers, or 70 miles a...
More
Saturn's A ring and thin F ring
Epimetheus' Long Shadow
The presence of the tiny ring moon Daphnis is betrayed by the edge waves it creates in the Keeler gap. The gap is a narrow lane, about 42 kilometers (26 miles) wide, in Saturn's outer A ring. Daph...
More
Edge waves in Saturn's rings
Moon's Signature
This perspective view of Cairo Sulcus was generated using high resolution images of Enceladus acquired in August 2008 at 12 to 30 meters (40 to 100 feet) resolution, together with a new topographic...
More
Perspective view of Cairo Sulcus
Perspective View of Cairo Sulcus, Enceladus
In this sequence of four images taken during one night of observation by NASA's Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona, the speck of light that moves relative to the background stars is a small a...
More
In this sequence of four images taken during one night of observation by NASA's Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona, the speck of light that moves relative to the background stars is a small asteroid that was, at the time, about as far away as the moon.
Sky Survey Detected This Small Asteroid
This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft is centered on asteroid Vesta's Vibidia crater. There is a distinctive distribution of bright and dark material around Vibidia crater.
More
Vibidia Crater
Vibidia Crater
This mosaic of images from the Surface Stereo Imager camera on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows several trenches dug by Phoenix, plus a corner of the spacecraft's deck and the Martian arctic plain ...
More
This mosaic of images from the Surface Stereo Imager camera on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows several trenches dug by Phoenix, plus a corner of the spacecraft's deck and the Martian arctic plain stretching to the horizon.
Composite View from Phoenix Lander
This artist's concept shows NASA's Dawn spacecraft arriving at the dwarf planet Ceres, the most massive body in the asteroid belt. Dawn is the first mission to visit a dwarf planet.
More
Dawn's Arrival at Dwarf Planet (Artist Concept)
Dawn's Arrival at Dwarf Planet (Artist Concept)
The Cassini spacecraft captures a couple of small moons in this image taken while the spacecraft was nearly in the plane of Saturn's rings. Near the top of this image, a crescent Mimas (396 kilome...
More
Mimas, Pan and Saturn's rings
Mimas and Pan
Distant Rhea (right) poses here for the Cassini spacecraft, as Pandora hovers against Saturn's dark shadow on the rings. This image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-an...
More
Rhea, Saturn's rings, and Pandora
Moons Near and Far
This image taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows Duginavi Crater, a large crater on Ceres. Duginavi hosts the small Oxo Crater, recognizable by its bright rim and ejecta.
More
Duginavi and Oxo
Duginavi and Oxo
This image, taken on June 6, 2015 by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows Ceres from an altitude of 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers). A mountain can be seen on the left. The western edge of Haulani crater c...
More
Dawn Survey Orbit Image 47
Dawn Survey Orbit Image 47
Long streamers of cloud encircle the south polar region of Saturn. Farther poleward, or toward lower left, faint, deeper atmospheric structures lurk beneath the haze. This image was acquired from ...
More
The south polar region of Saturn
Wrapped in Ribbons
This 3-D image of the asteroid Vesta was taken on July 9, 2011 by the framing camera instrument aboard NASA's Dawn spacecraft. You need 3D glasses to view this image.
More
Anaglyph Image of Vesta's South Polar Region
Anaglyph Image of Vesta's South Polar Region
Saturn's moon Prometheus orbits near some of its handiwork in the F ring.
More
Saturn's moon Prometheus and the F ring
Prometheus' Handiwork
Artist's rendition of NASA's Dawn spacecraft, part of the Dawn Mission Art series.
More
Dawn Spacecraft
Dawn Spacecraft

You Might Also Like