Vesta may be a tiny planet

Deep melancholy surrounding the asteroid Vesta, may indicate that the message has a complex structure, a characteristic not of asteroids, and to the planets, according to a new study.

Researchers led by Debra Butskovski (Debra Buczkowski) Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland, noted that grooves that extend to the surface of Vesta, are no cracks in the form of the letter V, which are usually formed on the surfaces of asteroids in the result their collision with other space objects, and so-called grabens - areas of the cortex, which fell on the level of the rest of the surface tectonic fault lines, so that the form of education closer to the letter U. 

But the formation of the graben is only possible if Vesta has a clear structure, including the core, mantle and crust, the researchers say.

While scientists cannot say with confidence that there have Vesta complex internal structure - they will need to see firsthand the stronger evidence, such as a crater, divided trough half. But if the data are confirmed, this would mean that the West is not a space rock, a tiny planet.

The study will appear in Saturday's Journal Geophysical Research Letters.