September 26, 2012

Image Caption: The shadowy outlines of the terrain in Vesta's northern region are visible in this image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft. The image comes from the last sequence of images Dawn obtained of the giant asteroid Vesta as it departed the giant asteroid. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Astronomers suggest that water may have been delivered to Vesta through a build-up of small particles during an epoch when the Solar System was rich in dust.

The team presented their research at the European Planetary Science Congress in Madrid on Wednesday, offering up a radically different hypothesis from the way in which hydrous materials are deposited on other cosmic objects.

Using data from NASAs Dawn mission, the team found that Vestas surface shows distinct areas enriched with hydrated materials.

These regions are not dependent on solar illumination or temperature, as we find in the case of the Moon, De Sanctis, of the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Planetology in Rome, said in a press release. The uneven distribution is unexpected and indicates ancient processes that differ from those believed to be responsible for delivering water to other airless bodies, like the Moon.

The team studied data from Dawns visible and infrared (VIR) mapping spectrometer, showing large regional concentrations of hydroxyl clearly associated with geological features like ancient, highly-cratered terrains and the Oppia crater.

Hydroxyl on the surface of the Moon is thought to be created by the interaction of protons from the solar wind with the lunar regolith, or extraterrestrial soil.

Highest concentrations are found in areas near the lunar poles, and in permanently shadowed craters where it is cold.

View original post here:

Water May Have Been Deposited On Vesta Asteroid Long Ago