Rheasilvia (Vesta)
Data as of 2026-10-23
What it is
- Type
- Crater, craters
- IAU definition
A circular depression
- Diameter
- 450 km, 172 % of the radius of its body
- Centre
- 71.95° S, 86.3° east (planetocentric latitude, east longitude from 0 to 360°, the IAU convention)
- Name adopted
- September 30, 2011
- Origin of the name
Rhea Silvia, Roman vestal virgin, mother of Romulus and Remus (c. 770 B.C.).
Quoted in English, as the IAU publishes it.
In Galaxy
Opens its body in the application, the camera turned towards Rheasilvia.
Missions to its body
No observation record of this formation is crossed here. These are the missions the Planetary Data System declares for its body; none is claimed to have observed Rheasilvia.
Sources
International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, read on October 23, 2026. Feature page: https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/14886
Type definitions: IAU Descriptor Terms, read on October 17, 2026. https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms