Space
Dwarf Planet Ceres Has A Bright Spot, Discover What It Is
Sam D
First Posted: Jun 30, 2016 06:41 AM EDT
NASA scientists have recently discovered the reason for the bright occurrence in dwarf planet Ceres' mysterious Occator crater, as per reports. A new study revealed that the area has the highest levels of carbonate minerals ever found outside our planet.
The study reportedly led by Maria Cristina De Sanctis, NASA's Dawn Mission scientist, found that the main mineral in the bright region is sodium carbonate, a type of salt found in hydrothermal environments on Earth. The mineral is speculated to have appeared from inside Ceres, because the scientists feel that an asteroid collision couldn't have delivered it, however an asteroid impact could have facilitated the flow of the material to the surface from beneath the ground. The scientists also feel that an internal process could have caused the spill out of the material. In addition, the upwelling of the sodium carbonate indicates that the temperature inside Ceres is hotter than what was previously thought.
"This is the first time we see this kind of material elsewhere in the solar system in such a large amount," said Maria Cristina De Sanctis, NASA's Dawn Mission scientist. "The minerals we have found at the Occator central bright area require alteration by water. Carbonates support the idea that Ceres had interior hydrothermal activity, which pushed these materials to the surface within Occator".
According to the scientists, the presence of sodium carbonate also implies that liquid water may have been present below the surface of the dwarf planet, in recent times geologically. The salts could be the residue of localized bodies of water or oceans that flowed to the surface and then froze millions of years ago. The scientists based their findings on data gathered by the New Dawn spacecraft, whose infrared and visible mapping spectrometer analyzes different wavelengths of sunlight reflected off Ceres' surface. Consequently, the researchers can understand which minerals are generating those signals.
Apart from sodium carbonate, the scientists also found ammonia bearing salts in the Occator crater, which suggests that it has a link with icy planets in the outer solar system. The hypothesis goes with a theory that was put forward last year after the discovery of ammoniated phyllosilicates, which indicated that Ceres may have evolved near Neptune's orbit and migrated to its current position later on, or that it formed between Jupiter and Mars with material collected from the outer solar system. Incidentally, Dawn is a space mission that was launched in 2007 by NASA to study two of the three known protoplanets in the asteroid belt, namely Ceres and Vesta.
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First Posted: Jun 30, 2016 06:41 AM EDT
NASA scientists have recently discovered the reason for the bright occurrence in dwarf planet Ceres' mysterious Occator crater, as per reports. A new study revealed that the area has the highest levels of carbonate minerals ever found outside our planet.
The study reportedly led by Maria Cristina De Sanctis, NASA's Dawn Mission scientist, found that the main mineral in the bright region is sodium carbonate, a type of salt found in hydrothermal environments on Earth. The mineral is speculated to have appeared from inside Ceres, because the scientists feel that an asteroid collision couldn't have delivered it, however an asteroid impact could have facilitated the flow of the material to the surface from beneath the ground. The scientists also feel that an internal process could have caused the spill out of the material. In addition, the upwelling of the sodium carbonate indicates that the temperature inside Ceres is hotter than what was previously thought.
"This is the first time we see this kind of material elsewhere in the solar system in such a large amount," said Maria Cristina De Sanctis, NASA's Dawn Mission scientist. "The minerals we have found at the Occator central bright area require alteration by water. Carbonates support the idea that Ceres had interior hydrothermal activity, which pushed these materials to the surface within Occator".
According to the scientists, the presence of sodium carbonate also implies that liquid water may have been present below the surface of the dwarf planet, in recent times geologically. The salts could be the residue of localized bodies of water or oceans that flowed to the surface and then froze millions of years ago. The scientists based their findings on data gathered by the New Dawn spacecraft, whose infrared and visible mapping spectrometer analyzes different wavelengths of sunlight reflected off Ceres' surface. Consequently, the researchers can understand which minerals are generating those signals.
Apart from sodium carbonate, the scientists also found ammonia bearing salts in the Occator crater, which suggests that it has a link with icy planets in the outer solar system. The hypothesis goes with a theory that was put forward last year after the discovery of ammoniated phyllosilicates, which indicated that Ceres may have evolved near Neptune's orbit and migrated to its current position later on, or that it formed between Jupiter and Mars with material collected from the outer solar system. Incidentally, Dawn is a space mission that was launched in 2007 by NASA to study two of the three known protoplanets in the asteroid belt, namely Ceres and Vesta.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone