Vibidia (crater)

Vibidia is an impact crater on the asteroid 4 Vesta, located at 26.9°S and 139.9°W.^[2] It has a diameter of 7.1 km.^[1] There is a distinctive ray-like pattern of bright and dark material, with the bright rays extending circularly for 15 km around Vibidia, and the dark rays mostly restricted to within the crater and on the rim.^[3] The rays cut across older craters, whereas a few younger craters have formed on top of them.^[3]

Vibidia

A picture of Vibidia crater on Vesta taken by Dawn at an altitude of 700 km
Feature type	Impact crater
Location	Vestalia Terra, 4 Vesta
Coordinates	26.96°S 10.30°E / -26.96; 10.30[1]
Diameter	7.1 km (4.4 mi)[1]
Discoverer	Dawn
Eponym	Vibidia, Vestal virgin

Observation and naming

Vibidia was first identified as a distinct spectral unit from observations by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), which performed albedo and spectral observations of Vesta in 1994, 1996, 2007, and 2010. It was then informally given the provisional designation of Feature #11.^[4]: 1111 As with Vesta's other surface features, Vibidia was observed for the first time in detail upon the arrival of the Dawn orbiter on 16 July 2011.^[5] It was named after the Roman Vestal Virgin Vibidia on 27 December 2011.^[1]

References

1. "Vibidia". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program. (Center Latitude: -26.96°, Center Longitude: 10.30°; Planetocentric, +East)
2. List of craters on Vesta, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature (NASA coordinates)
3. JPL Image of the day March 12, 2012 - Vibidia crater
4. Reddy, Vishnu; Li, Jian-Yang; Le Corre, Lucille; et al. (30 July 2013). "Comparing Dawn, Hubble Space Telescope, and ground-based interpretations of (4) Vesta". Icarus. 226 (1): 1103–1114. arXiv:1307.6608. Bibcode:2013Icar..226.1103R. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2013.07.019.
5. Vega, Priscilla; Brown, Dwayne (16 July 2011). "NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Enters Orbit Around Asteroid Vesta". NASA. Retrieved 17 July 2011.