Aelia crater, Vesta, in medium and high resolution

Filed under pretty pictures, asteroid 4 Vesta, Dawn

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Aelia is a 4.3-kilometer-diameter crater 14 degrees south of Vesta's equator that shows intriguing variety in the albedo of its ejecta. It's shown here at two different resolutions. On the left is an image taken during the high-altitude mapping orbit; on the right, during the low-altitude mapping orbit.

NASA / JPL / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA

These images are located in Vesta’s Lucaria Tholus quadrangle, in Vesta’s southern hemisphere. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft obtained the left image with its framing camera on Oct. 23, 2011. This image was taken through the camera’s clear filter. The distance to the surface of Vesta is 700 kilometers (435 miles) and the image has a resolution of about 63 meters (207 feet) per pixel. This image was acquired during the HAMO (high-altitude mapping orbit) phase of the mission. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft obtained the right image with its framing camera on Jan. 10, 2012. This image was taken through the camera’s clear filter. The distance to the surface of Vesta is 272 kilometers (169 miles) and the image has a resolution of about 18 meters (59 feet) per pixel. This image was acquired during the LAMO (low-altitude mapping orbit) phase of the mission.