Vesta, the word; Or maybe back to the rock!

So, what does Vesta mean anyways? The word does remind me of the Zoroastrian's Holy book, Avesta. Today, a good friend of mine confirmed my intuition. She said Vesta is a girl's name among Zoroastrians, derived from the word Avesta. Yet, I do not know its Persian meaning. Do you?

In English, Vesta is related to the name of a Roman Goddess of the hearth! Considering that fire is holy in Zoroastrianism, the connection to Avesta makes sense. So does the complete definition: the goddess of hearth is worshiped in a temple with a sacred fire that is kept burning by vestal virgins! Similarly, Zoroastrian temples in Iran have fireplaces that have been kept burning for hundreds of years! So, where do Romans come into the picture?! It is so interesting.

Back to the Vesta of the skies now! Vesta is the largest asteroid in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. As of Saturday (July 16, 2011), Dawn became the first spacecraft orbiting such a body. Look at its image only 9500 miles away from Vesta's surface!*

Compare it to the July 9th, 2011 image! It is amazing going for a ride on Dawn, millions of miles, all the way to the Vesta!

* http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/news/dawn20110718.html