New Discovery of Flowing Magma and Salt Water on the Surface of the Asteroid Vesta

Vesta‘s surface has striking color variations, from dark to light, due to the presence of different minerals. In research published in the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, a group of researchers managed to further analyze well-preserved volcanic meteorite samples found in Antarctica.

The sample was identified from the asteroid Vesta that fell to Earth. This analysis is expected to provide further understanding of this asteroid.

The data show that the asteroid Vesta was volcanically active for at least 30 million years after its initial formation, which occurred about 4,565 million years ago. Scientists estimate that pockets of magma should continue on Vesta, and they could be associated with a magma ocean that cools to a certain extent that is inside the crust of the asteroid.

In addition, they analyzed the data to gain a deeper understanding of what was happening in the asteroid by measuring how long it took Vesta’s crust to cool. Several meteors that fell to Earth are thought to have come from Vesta, such as Howardites, Eucrites, and Diogenite.

Research shows that the chemical and isotopic composition of these meteors is similar to the surface of Vesta. These meteors were likely formed by collisions on Vesta that were strong enough to eject material into space.

This process allows material from Vesta to be thrown into an orbit that ends up on Earth.