[X] My Assistant

[antipode]

I cant see any evidence that the giant south polar crater on Vesta - whose existence has been known since the first Hubble images were returned in the 90s, even if the current fidelity of the data is low - has actually been named. This seems odd to me as it is clearly the most prominent feature on Vesta's surface.

What are the (IAU?) protocols on naming in the case of 'small bodies' (I dont think Vesta makes the grade as a 'minor planet')? Is there going to be a 'theme' for names features on Vesta (and Ceres for that matter?). I know that for Eros for example, features weren't named until after NEARs arrival, but then again no features could have been named until then, unlike Vesta.

Are we basically waiting for high fidelity data from DAWN?

P

[Explorer1]

If it turns out to be something unexpected, like for instance two or more craters that just look like one, I imagine they'd err on the side of caution. A little over a year to go either way, so not long a wait.