Astronomers STILL Don’t Know What is Causing the “Ceres Spots” – Update

Here is a refresher on the two bright spots that some people think is ice, and others even propose some sort of bioluminescence:

The two brightest spots on dwarf planet Ceres, which have fascinated scientists for months, are back in view in the newest images from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. Dawn took these images on April 14 and 15 from a vantage point 14,000 miles (22,000 kilometers) above Ceres’ north pole.

The images show the brightest spot and its companion clearly standing out against their darker surroundings, but their composition and sources are still unknown. Scientists also see other interesting features, including heavy cratering. As Dawn gets closer to Ceres, surface features will continue to emerge at increasingly better resolution.

What do you think?  Are these just reflections from ice and the sun, or perhaps salt deposits?  Or are they something else?  Feel free to comment.

And here is the potential update on the theory of what is causing them:

If the team’s theory is confirmed, Ceres would seem to be internally active. While this is known to be rich in water, it is unclear whether this is related to the bright spots. It is also still debated if Ceres due to its vast reservoir of water, could be a suitable place to host microbial life.

“Life as we know it on Earth needs liquid water, biogenic elements and a stable source of energy. Is Ceres a good place to have these things simultaneously and for a substantial amount of time, like billions of years? Nobody knows at the moment,” Molaro concluded.

thanks to phys.org for the great info

thanks to NASA for the great info



5 Comments

  1. David Hua Ken Cheng said:

    Need to have more up-closed photos for R-view. There are two massive pyramids – not one – in the centre of the crater. In the mist of a asteroid shower that hit the surface – a large asteroid landed a couple of miles near the pyramids – partially destroyed one – kicking up enough dirt to covered up both of the pyramids. There are massive structures/buildings on the rim of the crater.

  2. Pat Hoover said:

    Not salt, smh. Not light reflection, smh. I have seen a pic from the side, looks just like spotlights. Also if you look at earth, from space, looks exactly the same.

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