This article is about the crater on 4 Vesta. For the vestal virgin Veneneia, seevestal virgins.
Outline ofRheasilvia (top center), with Veneneia (bottom center) underlying it
Veneneia/vɛnɪˈniːə/ is the second-largestimpact crater on asteroid4 Vesta, at 52°S latitude. 395 kilometres (245 mi)[1] in diameter, it is 70% of the equatorial diameter of the asteroid, and one of thelargest craters in the Solar System. It is at least 2 billion years old, and possibly as old as 4.2 billion years.[2] However, it is overlain and partially obliterated by the even largerRheasilvia. It was discovered by theDawn spacecraft in 2011. It is named afterVenēneia, one of the foundingvestal virgins.[3]
Vesta has a series of troughs in the northern hemisphere concentric to Veneneia. These are believed to be large-scale fractures resulting from the impact. The largest isSaturnalia Fossae, approx. 39 km wide and > 400 km long.[4]
