Thunderbolts.info legacy page  
     homeaboutessential guidepicture of the daythunderblogsnewsmultimediapredictionsproductsget involvedcontact
 
 
 

picture of the day

chronological archive               subject archive

 
 
 
 
 


Asteroids Ceres and Vesta
 
 

Dawn Approaches the Asteroid Belt
Jun 03, 2010

A new mission to explore the largest asteroids in the Solar System.

On September 27, 2007, NASA launched the Dawn spacecraft on a mission that will take it into the asteroid belt, where it will study two of the largest planetesimals in orbit between Mars and Jupiter, Ceres and Vesta. Dawn is so named because it will be observing objects thought to have existed since the dawn of the Solar System.

"Asteroid" was first coined by William Herschel and means "star-like." Ceres was the first asteroid discovered in 1801 by Guiseppe Piazzi and the largest known, with a diameter of approximately 950 kilometers. Since no spacecraft has visited Ceres, its size estimate is determined by combining data from various telescope observations. Ceres compares in size to Saturn's moons Tethys and Dione and might look similar to Dione, with craters and ridges, although Ceres is about 15% smaller.

Ceres has recently been added to the roster of "dwarf planets" along with Pluto—Ceres being the only one within the asteroid belt. Vesta, the first one of the Dawn mission's targets, could also be added, something that data from the space probe will help to determine.

Vesta is the second largest asteroid, with a diameter of approximately 530 kilometers. It was found in 1807 by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers. Using Saturn's moons for scale again, Vesta compares to Enceladus or Mimas in size.

There are indications that Vesta has experienced some powerful collisions in the past, since more than one large crater marks its surface. One of the craters near Vesta's south pole is 460 kilometers in diameter, more than 80% of the asteroid's size. The crater is close to 13 kilometers below the mean elevation of the terrain, with a rim about 6 kilometers above. There is an 18 kilometer high central peak, as well. Why did an impact that removed more than 1% of the asteroid's mass not blast it into pieces?

The "rubble pile" theory of asteroid composition was created to help explain the mass anomalies that have been seen in asteroid crater studies. Other asteroids, as well as small moons, exhibit craters that should have exploded them into fragments when they were hit. The only suitable explanation, according to gravity-based models, is that they are loosely compacted. It is presumed that they act like big sand piles and absorb the impacts without shattering. They have no hard crust to begin with so they haven't fractured despite repeated pounding.

The Electric Universe theory of asteroid formation does not require that one object smash into another one for there to be craters. Electric arcs can gouge surfaces and scoop out material, accelerating it into space, leaving clean, deep pits. Comets also exhibit surface features that are the same as those observed on asteroids, so the conclusion is that the two are really one thing and not "dirty snowballs" versus rocky bodies.

Plasma arcs do not disturb the surrounding surfaces when they are used in industrial applications. Based on laboratory analysis, that is what has occurred on Vesta and on all the asteroids, moons, and planets of the solar system: plasma discharge erosion. Planetary scientists ignore electrical explanations, which rectify the anomalies in other theories, because they know almost nothing about plasma and electric currents in space. Electricity can create the very things they are sending out probes to study

Stephen Smith


 

 
 

"The Cosmic Thunderbolt"

YouTube video, first glimpses of Episode Two in the "Symbols of an Alien Sky" series.
 

 

And don't forget: "The Universe Electric"

Three ebooks in the Universe Electric series are now available. Consistently praised for easily understandable text and exquisite graphics.
 
 
 
 
SITE SEARCH
 
 
 

 
  This free site search script provided by JavaScript Kit  
 
SUBSCRIBE
 
  FREE update -

Weekly digest of Picture of the Day, Thunderblog, Forum, Multimedia and more.
 
 
*** NEW DVD ***
 
  Symbols of an Alien Sky
Selections Playlist

 
 
E-BOOKS
 
 
An e-book series
for teachers, general readers and specialists alike.
 
 
VIDEO
(FREE viewing)
 
  Thunderbolts of the Gods

 
 
PREDICTIONS
 
  Follow the stunning success of the Electric Universe in predicting the 'surprises' of the space age.  
 
MULTIMEDIA
 
  Our multimedia page explores many diverse topics, including a few not covered by the Thunderbolts Project.  
 
OUR VISITORS:
 
   
 
 

 
 
Authors David Talbott and Wallace Thornhill introduce the reader to an age of planetary instability and earthshaking electrical events in ancient times. If their hypothesis is correct, it could not fail to alter many paths of scientific investigation.
More info
Professor of engineering Donald Scott systematically unravels the myths of the "Big Bang" cosmology, and he does so without resorting to black holes, dark matter, dark energy, neutron stars, magnetic "reconnection", or any other fictions needed to prop up a failed theory.
More info
In language designed for scientists and non-scientists alike, authors Wallace Thornhill and David Talbott show that even the greatest surprises of the space age are predictable patterns in an electric universe.
More info
 

 
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in the Thunderbolts Picture Of the Day are those of the authors of
the material, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Thunderbolts Project.
The linking to material off-site in no way endorses such material and the Thunderbolts
Project has no control of nor takes any responsibility for any content on linked sites.
 

 
EXECUTIVE EDITORS: David Talbott, Wallace Thornhill
MANAGING EDITOR: Stephen Smith
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Michael Armstrong, Dwardu Cardona,
Ev Cochrane, C.J. Ransom, Don Scott,
Rens van der Sluijs, Ian Tresman,
Tom Wilson
WEBMASTER: Brian Talbott
 
© Copyright 2010: thunderbolts.info
 
top ]
 
thunderbolts.info

home   •   picture of the day   •   thunderblogs   •   multimedia   •   resources   •   forum   •   updates   •   contact us   •   support us