Minor planet asteroid 4 Vesta reaches opposition on 4 March when it will appear like a mag. +5.9 star in the constellation of Leo, the Lion. Despite the fact that it looks like a star, Vesta is in fact a body in our Solar System, holding the accolade of being the brightest of the asteroids. Advertisement Vesta is a large object and it orbits the Sun once every 3.63 years, with an orbit that takes it out as far as 2.57 AU from the Sun and as close as 2.15 AU (where 1 AU is the average distance between Earth and the Sun). Vesta begins March east of the star Chertan (Theta θ Leonis) and tracks northwest, reaching its brightest at opposition on 4 March in the constellation of Leo, the Lion. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine