Vesta's "dark ribbon": A fluidized ejecta flow?

Kurzfassung

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft collected imaging, spectroscopic, and elemental abundance data during its one-year orbital mission. Geologic mapping of Vesta’s surface was based on compositional data from the Visible & Infrared Spectrometer (VIR) and Framing Camera (FC) images obtained during the High-Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) and the Low-Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO). Mapping of Vestalia Terra [1] resulted in the identification of an unusual feature, informally referred to as the “dark ribbon” in the Av-9 quadrangle. We propose that the dark ribbon represents a fluidized ejecta flow from Drusilla crater.