Astronomy Picture of the Week – Vesta from Orbit by Dawn Spacecraft
This photo of Vesta was taken by the Dawn spacecraft from the asteroid's orbit on July 17. Vesta is a large asteroid with a mean diameter of about 530 kilometers. It is the second most massive object in the asteroid belt after Ceres and consists of about 9% of all the belt's mass.
Earth’s Size Compared to Other Astronomical Objects [Infographic]
The Earth is only a speck of dust in the grand scale of the universe. There are stars that would even dwarf our Sun. If you thought that Aldebaran was huge, wait until you see supergiant or hypergiant stars like Betelgeuse, Antares or VV Cephei! They are so astronomically large that it is hard to visualize. That’s where this infographic comes in:
NASA Mars Science Laboratory [Video]
This animation depicts the artist's vision of the key events of the future NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. It is planned to launch in late 2011 and reach Mars in August 2012. The rover will be called "Curiosity".
