Asteroid Vesta may be the last remaining fragment of a planet destroyed billions of years ago, according to scientists

New research challenges the long-held belief that asteroid Vesta is a protoplanet. Scientists at Michigan State University suggest Vesta is a fragment of a larger, extinct planet shattered in a massive collision 4.5 billion years ago. Gravity data from NASA's Dawn mission reveals no metal-rich core, contradicting earlier assumptions and redefining planetary evolution.

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