NASA’s Dawn spacecraft detected bright spots on the surface of Ceres

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BRENT: NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has detected more visible pictures of unknown bright spots on the surface of Ceres. It was even able to detect a pyramid-shaped peak standing out on a considerably flat landscape.
Ceres is a dwarf planet situated in the primary asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. It is the largest object in the area and has been studied by Dawn, some 4,400 km away, in its second mapping orbit.
NASA has reported that a different view of its mysterious bright spots shows an increase in the number of small spots compared to the ones previously visible. These bright spots are located in a crater with a diameter of 90 kilometers. The brightest spot is estimated to be 9 kilometers wide with around eight spots visible next to it. These spots are most likely caused by ice and salt, but scientists are not discounting other causes as well.
Carol Raymond, deputy principal examiner for the Dawn mission, said that Ceres’ surface is very interesting and unique. Unlike other icy moons in the outer solar system, central pits located in enormous craters are a common sight in its surface. Along with other features, this can help them map out the inner structure of Ceres, without having to actually see it.
Dawn is equipped with infrared mapping spectrometer. This enables scientists to sort out specific minerals that can be found on Ceres. Each mineral has a unique and visible wavelength in reflecting the infrared-light. This is used by scientist to analyze and determine what kind of mineral it is. This will also be the way that scientist will be able to know more about the mysterious bright spots.
Along with the bright spots, the most recent pictures showed a mountain with steep slopes bulging from a considerable smooth area on Ceres’ surface. It is said to be around five km above the surface.
Dawn is the first spacecraft to visit a dwarf planet and the first to orbit two different subjects in our solar system. It reached Ceres last March 6, 2015 and will stay on its present altitude until June 30.