14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, have just released a new video showcasing Vesta, the largest asteroid in the solar system.
The clip was created from images taken by the Dawn orbiter, which arrived at the protoplanet in mid-July, 2011.
The images used to create this simulated flyover were snapped by the framing cameras on the NASA orbiter between 2011 to 2012. Though they were not the main scientific instruments used to analyze the asteroid, they did provide experts with enough material to work it.
According to the JPL group, the simulated Vesta flyby combines real images with projections, and is centered on the most important landmark features on the surface of the giant asteroid.
Dawn launched in 2007, and reached Vesta last year. A few days from now, on September 5, it will depart the asteroid, and start a 30-month journey to the dwarf planet Ceres, its next science target.