NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is sending more surprises as it approaches the dwarf planet Ceres and it will have many questions to answer next month when is scheduled to enter orbit and study it from close distance. The new images, taken last week at a distance of 52,000 miles (83,000 kilometers) from the dwarf planet, show craters, but also bright spots that cannot be yet explained by scientists. “As we slowly approach the stage, our eyes transfixed on Ceres and her planetary dance, we find she has beguiled us but left us none the wiser. We expected to be surprised; we did not expect to be this puzzled”, said Chris Russell, principal investigator of the Dawn mission, based at UCLA, cited by NASA.
These are not the first images of bright white spots on Ceres and NASA confirmed last month that something on Ceres reflects more sunlight, but it remains a mystery for the moment. The latest images, which have a resolution of 4.9 miles per pixel, represent the sharpest views of Ceres to date. As the spacecraft delivers better images and other data, the science team will be investigating the nature and composition of the dwarf planet, including the nature of the craters and bright spots that are coming into focus. Dawn is expected to be gently captured into orbit around Ceres on March 6.
Ceres is the largest body in the main asteroid belt, which lies between Mars and Jupiter, with an average diameter of 590 miles (950 kilometers), and is thought to contain a large amount of ice. Some scientists think it’s possible that the surface conceals an ocean.
The spacecraft explored the giant asteroid Vesta, , the second most massive body in the asteroid belt, for 14 months during 2011 and 2012. From more than 30,000 images sent by Dawn, scientists gained numerous insights about the geological history of this body and saw its cratered surface in fine detail. By comparing Vesta and Ceres, they will develop a better understanding of the formation of the solar system.