Crater in Shadow on Vesta

This image, one of the first obtained by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft in its low altitude mapping orbit, shows part of the rim of a fresh crater on the giant asteroid Vesta. The terrain shown here is located in an area known as the Heavily Cratered Terrain in the northern hemisphere.

The image, taken by Dawn’s framing camera, is centered at around 17 degrees latitude and 77 degrees longitude. It was obtained on Dec. 13 at an altitude of 119 miles (191 kilometers). The image covers an area 11 miles by 11 miles (18 kilometers by 18 kilometers).