Ice Volcanoes On Ceres May Have Disappeared To Oblivion

Ahuna Mons, an ice volcano that is so far the biggest thing spotted on the dwarf planet, Ceres, may not have been alone of its kind. Scientists did not know why, until a recent explanation was uncovered.

In a new explanation from Popular Science, it seems that the cryovolcanoes like Ahuna Mons may have flattened out over time, not for erosion, but for the mere fact that they have melted. Sure, at 2.5 miles tall, it stuck out like a sore thumb. But it could not have been the only cryovolcano in Ceres for all theses years.

The website noted that given enough time, any solid object can flow. While rocky volcanoes are too viscous to do so, ice can relax without having to melt, thus the way the Earth's very own glaciers moving around.

Ceres is made mostly of water ice, which is how the whole surface can flow. Sori explained in Science Daily that this sort of viscous relaxation does not appear to happen here on Earth because they are made of rock. While the process can reshape the surfaces of other icy worlds, it is less pronounced on Ceres, considering that it is the icy body closest to the Sun.

Study author Michael Sori shared, "Heat has a lot to do with it. It's like if you put a jar of honey in the microwave, the honey flows much faster than it does at room temperature."

This type of viscous relaxation is what Sori and his colleagues believed to have happened on Ceres -- and at a youthful 200 million years old, Ahuna Mons have not had enough time to have a viscous relaxation yet.

For now, the team will have to try to identify the flattened remnants of the other cryovolcanoes on Ceres. This is to help them further decipher the story of the formation of the dwarf planet in the first place.