Space
Dawn Spacecraft Discovers What Mysterious Bright Spots on Ceres are Made Of (VIDEO)
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Dec 10, 2015 09:18 AM EST
The NASA Dawn spacecraft has found a bit more information out about Ceres. The new findings may reveal what Ceres' mysterious bright spots really are, and possibly how they formed.
Ceres has more than 130 bright areas, and most of them are associated with impact craters. In this case, the researchers believe that the bright material is consistent with a type of magnesium sulfate called hexahydrate. A different type of magnesium sulfate is familiar on Earth and is known as Epsom salt.
In this latest study, the researchers used and examined images from Dawn's framing camera. This revealed that these salt-rich areas were left behind when water-ice sublimated in the past. Impacts from asteroids would have unearthed the mixture of ice and salt.
The researchers also studied Occator, which contains the brightest material on Ceres. Occator itself is 60 miles in diameter, and its central pit, which is covered by the bright material, measures about 6 miles wide and .3 miles deep. Dark streaks, possibly fractures, traverse the pit.
In some views of Occator, the researchers spotted a diffuse haze near the surface the fills the floor of the crater. This may be associated with observations of water vapor at Ceres by the Herschel Space Observatory.
"The Dawn science team is still discussing these results and analyzing data to better understand what is happening at Occator," said Chris Russell, principal investigator of the Dawn mission, in a news release.
For more information about the mission, visit NASA's website's Dawn mission page.
Related Articles
Ceres is a Cosmic Dartboard for Asteroids and Comets, New Study Reveals
NASA Eyes Venus, Asteroids and Other Targets for New Exploratory Missions
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now:
NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
More on SCIENCEwr
First Posted: Dec 10, 2015 09:18 AM EST
The NASA Dawn spacecraft has found a bit more information out about Ceres. The new findings may reveal what Ceres' mysterious bright spots really are, and possibly how they formed.
Ceres has more than 130 bright areas, and most of them are associated with impact craters. In this case, the researchers believe that the bright material is consistent with a type of magnesium sulfate called hexahydrate. A different type of magnesium sulfate is familiar on Earth and is known as Epsom salt.
In this latest study, the researchers used and examined images from Dawn's framing camera. This revealed that these salt-rich areas were left behind when water-ice sublimated in the past. Impacts from asteroids would have unearthed the mixture of ice and salt.
The researchers also studied Occator, which contains the brightest material on Ceres. Occator itself is 60 miles in diameter, and its central pit, which is covered by the bright material, measures about 6 miles wide and .3 miles deep. Dark streaks, possibly fractures, traverse the pit.
In some views of Occator, the researchers spotted a diffuse haze near the surface the fills the floor of the crater. This may be associated with observations of water vapor at Ceres by the Herschel Space Observatory.
"The Dawn science team is still discussing these results and analyzing data to better understand what is happening at Occator," said Chris Russell, principal investigator of the Dawn mission, in a news release.
For more information about the mission, visit NASA's website's Dawn mission page.
Related Articles
Ceres is a Cosmic Dartboard for Asteroids and Comets, New Study Reveals
NASA Eyes Venus, Asteroids and Other Targets for New Exploratory Missions
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone