DLR Institute of Planetary Research - 21.10.2011

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21.10.2011 - Unusual craters on Vesta II

This Dawn FC (framing camera) image shows craters with both sharp and smooth rims. The most obvious is the large crater in the bottom left of the image. The left side of this crater has a very distinct, sharp rim while the right side has a much more degraded, rounded and less clear rim. A pile of material is generally located at the bottom of the craters’ degraded sides. This suggests that landslides have taken place on these sides of the craters. Some material is seen slumping towards the center of the craters from the fresh sides but the volume is significantly less than on the degraded sides. Craters such as these are observed reasonably frequently on Vesta. There is also a scattering of both bright and dark material in small patches across this image. A small crater on the left side of the image has a particularly noticeable surrounding of bright material.

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