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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Flipside on May 11, 2012, 12:08:51 pm

Title: Vesta is very old...
Post by: Flipside on May 11, 2012, 12:08:51 pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18027933

The headline decribes it as 'the last of its kind', but I think that is kind of pompous considering how much of the Solar System we haven't looked at yet, but still, an interesting piece about how Vesta might well be one of the oldest objects in the Solar System (except the Sun) that we have identified.

Title: Re: Vesta is very old...
Post by: watsisname on May 12, 2012, 05:12:35 am

Eh, like many articles the headline is a bit misleading.  Vesta is most certainly not the only original object from the formation of the solar system, it's just one of the largest (which does make somewhat special). 

There have been a good number of so-called 'primitive' meteorites which contain original materials from the solar nebula -- Allende (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allende_meteorite) is one of the best studied of these.  They put the age of the solar system at 4.567 billion years, give or take less than a million. :)

I'm really curious to find out what this mission will find at Ceres and how it compares to Vesta.  Also what New Horizons will discover at Pluto!

Title: Re: Vesta is very old...
Post by: Mongoose on May 12, 2012, 01:38:57 pm

Discoveries aside, I'm most excited to see a decent picture of Pluto.  Looking at 30 pixels or so from Hubble doesn't do all that much for the imagination. :p