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Emily Lakdawalla • Jan 01, 2011

Happy 2011, and an end to the 2010 advent calendar

Welcome 2011! I can't wait for what this year has in store. The prize for all of you who have enjoyed opening each door in the Planetary Society's 2010 advent calendar is one of the best views we can get of one of the biggest objects in the asteroid belt, Vesta. It's from Hubble, and Hubble is a great instrument, but as you can see it is nothing like the photos we have gotten from other worlds that we have actually visited. Of course, Vesta is a world that will soon receive its first visitor. In June and July, we'll get our first sense of what the geology of Vesta is really like. I can't wait!!

Vesta from Hubble
Vesta from Hubble The Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 3 observed Vesta in February 2010 to aid the Dawn mission in planning their orbital tour of the asteroid, scheduled to begin in the summer of 2011. Hubble's images were taken in near-ultraviolet and blue wavelengths, so this view is not representative of what the human eye would see. Dark areas are interpreted to be regions of basalt; red areas are likely "regolith" or dust. The observations were made on February 25 and 28, 2010. This view is just a still from a 146-frame movie of the asteroid's rotation. A deep crater appears to be in the center of the view.Image: NASA / ESA / STScI / UMd

The Planetary Society Blog 2010 Advent Calendar

Door 1
Door 1
Door 2
Door 2
Door 3
Door 3
Door 4
Door 4
Door 5
Door 5
Door 6
Door 6
Door 7
Door 7
Door 8
Door 8
Door 9
Door 9
Door 10
Door 10
Door 11
Door 11
Door 12
Door 12
Door 13
Door 13
Door 14
Door 14
Door 15
Door 15
Door 16
Door 16
Door 17
Door 17
Door 18
Door 18
Door 19
Door 19
Door 20
Door 20
Door 21
Door 21
Door 22
Door 22
Door 23
Door 23
Door 24
Door 24
Door 25
Door 25
Door 26
Door 26
Door 27
Door 27
Door 28
Door 28
Door 29
Door 29
Door 30
Door 30
Door 31
Door 31
Last Door
Last Door