If you ’re like us , you ’ve been following the floor of the bright smirch on Ceres in outstanding detail , from their initial discovery to the seemingly conclusive grounds they weremade of saltto the recent study suggesting they mysteriouslybrighten now and then .
Now , at the forty-seventh annualLunar and Planetary Science Conferencein Texas this calendar week , scientists have unveiled arresting new images of the bright spots , take aim by the Dawn ballistic capsule in its current and lowest orbit around the nanus planet , just 385 kilometer ( 240 miles ) above the surface . That ’s miserable than the International Space Station ( ISS ) is above Earth .
The belated images reveal a raft of feature article , but perhaps the most interesting is Occator Crater . This is the placement of the brightest spots on the surface of Ceres , think to be mostly composed of magnesium sulfate . At first intellection to be just one spot , Occator was afterward uncover to have multiple blot – and the raw images ( above and below ) show them in glorious particular .
A close - up of the Occator Crater . NASA / JPL - Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / PSI
" Before Dawn began its intensive observation of Ceres last year , Occator Crater looked to be one large bright area , ” said Ralf Jaumann , planetary scientist and Dawn cobalt - investigator at the German Aerospace Center ( DLR ) in Berlin , in astatement . “ Now , with the late faithful views , we can see complex features that provide young mystery to inquire . ”
Sojourner Truth be told , by from the spots , Ceres is n’t the most fascinating world – it certainly pales in comparison to the surprisingly feature - rich Pluto . But it does have its queerness ; away from Occator , there are hundreds of other bright spots on the airfoil , in addition to a gravid unexplained muckle calledAhuna Mons .
The constitution of the spot is still a bit of a mystery , but late evidence hint they may in part be fuel by subsurface water or ice leaking to the surface . In fact , scientists think Ceres may once have played host to a vastsubsurface oceanearly in the Solar System when it was hot , not too different to that on Europa and Enceladus today , supply much of the material for the bright spots . The dwarf satellite may also still be pretty geologically dynamic .
scientist will examine interesting features like Occator in much more detail , with Dawn in its lowest orbit , to aid ravel out the remaining enigma of Ceres .
“ Now that we can see Ceres ’ puzzling shiny spots , surface mineral and geomorphology in high solution , we ’re busy working to figure out what processes determine this unique dwarf planet , ” say Carol Raymond , deputy principal investigator for the Dawn mission , base at NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory , Pasadena , California , in the statement .
The function above shows the surface of Ceres in heighten colour . NASA / JPL - Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA
