NASA images of asteroid Bennu reveal 'extremely bright' chunks of another asteroid on the surface

NASA spotted pieces of asteroid Vesta ranging in size from five to 14 feet scattered across Bennu's southern hemisphere and near its center. The boulders were detected in images from the OSIRIS-Rex and appear much brighter than the surrounding area of dark, rich carbon. The team analyzed the chunks using an on-board spectrometer and found signs of the mineral pyroxene - a known compound on Vesta. NASA theorizes the material came from Bennu's parent asteroid that was struck by a fragment from Vesta. NASA spotted pieces of asteroid Vesta ranging in size from five to 14 feet scattered across Bennu's southern hemisphere and near its center. Hannah Kaplan of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said: 'Our leading hypothesis is that Bennu inherited this material from its parent asteroid after a vestoid (a fragment from Vesta) struck the parent.'