The dwarf planet Vesta is helping scientists better understand the earliest era in the formation of our solar system.
Vesta is the second-largest body in the asteroid belt at 500 kilometers across. It's big enough to have evolved in the same way as rocky, terrestrial bodies like the Earth, moon and Mars. Early on, these were balls of molten rock heated by collisions.
Is it an asteroid or comet? This strange solar system object is actually both. | Space
The object, dubbed 2005 QN173, orbits like any other asteroid , but most such objects are rocks that don't change much as they loop through the solar system. Not so for 2005 QN173, which was first spotted in 2005 (hence the name), according to new research.
"It fits the physical definitions of a comet, in that it is likely icy and is ejecting dust into space, even though it also has the orbit of an asteroid," Henry Hsieh, lead author of the new research and a planetary scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, said in a statement .
NASA's Lucy mission: A journey to the young solar system
Studying Jupiter's Trojan asteroids up close would help scientists hone their theories on how our solar system's planets formed 4.5 billion years ago and why they ended up in their current configuration.
First conceived seven years ago as a mission to two asteroids, Lucy expanded to epic proportions thanks to creative engineering and impeccable timing.
Moon rocks brought to Earth by Chinese mission fill key gaps in solar system history | Space
China's new moon-rock treasure trove may be a billion years younger than the material the Apollo program brought home decades ago, according to new research.
All told, in December, China's Chang'e 5 spacecraft managed to return 3.81 pounds (1.73 kilograms) of moon rock from a region called Oceanus Procellarum to scientists on Earth.
Weird Asteroid-Comet Hybrid Space Rock Has Huge 450,000 Mile-Long Tail
Astronomers have discovered an object in the solar system that defies normal categorization because it has the traits of both an asteroid and a comet.
The space object 2005 QN173 orbits the sun like any other asteroid and sits in an area of the solar system called the main asteroid belt.
Asteroid Psyche Holds Clues to Early Solar System - SpaceRef
More than 150 years have passed since novelist Jules Verne wrote "Journey to the Center of the Earth," but reality has yet to catch up with that science fiction adventure.
While humans can't bore a path to our planet's metallic core, NASA has its sights set on visiting a giant asteroid that may be the frozen remains of the molten core of a bygone world.
Science of Psyche: Unique asteroid holds clues to early solar system
Called Psyche, this asteroid orbits the Sun in the main asteroid belt , between Mars and Jupiter. Using data gathered from Earth-based radar and optical telescopes, scientists believe that Psyche is made largely of metal.
The asteroid, which is about 173 miles (280 kilometers) at its widest point, could also be something else. It could be the leftover piece of a completely different kind of iron-rich body that formed from metal-rich material somewhere in the solar system.
SunPower buys US solar system provider for $165 million – pv magazine International
The company said it will consider options for its Commercial & Industrial Solutions business including new ownership.
SunPower Corp. said it will double down on its residential business and will weigh options for its Commercial & Industrial Solutions business, including new ownership.
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