Asteroid Vesta could be a planet

The 330-kilometer diameter Vesta asteroid, considered the second largest in the entire solar system, could turn into a planet. At least that is the idea held by some scientists who hope that the International Astronomical Union can reclassify it.

The chances of this happening are remote, but some experts make a point of defending this hypothesis. Vesta has a number of characteristics typically associated with terrestrial bodies such as the earth. Its topography, for example, is more like a rocky planet than an asteroid.

Currently, Vesta has an Earth spacecraft, scheduled to continue in orbit until July. After that, the spacecraft departs for Ceres, the largest asteroid in the solar system.