Yahoo – AFP,
27 Feb 2015
 |
A NASA Dawn
spacecraft image of the dwarf planet Ceres on February 19,
2015 (AFP Photo)
|
Washington
(AFP) - The discovery of another bright light on the dwarf planet Ceres has
NASA scientists perplexed as the US Dawn probe prepares to enter the orbit of
the largest object in the asteroid belt and possibly resolve the mystery.
The images
taken nearly 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers) from Ceres show that a bright
spot on the planet scientists previously discovered appears next to another
slightly darker spot, NASA said in a news release.
The light
appears in the same basin as the other spot, images released by NASA show.
"This
may be pointing to a volcano-like origin of the spots, but we will have to wait
for better resolution before we can make such geologic interpretations,"
Chris Russell from the Dawn mission said.
The Dawn
probe will enter the orbit of Ceres March 6. Scientists expect to receive
better views of the mystery lights as the spacecraft closes in and spirals
nearer the dwarf planet.
"The
brightest spot continues to be too small to resolve with our camera, but
despite its size it is brighter than anything else on Ceres. This is truly
unexpected and still a mystery to us," said scientist Andreas Nathues who
is in charge of the camera.
Scientists
detected water vapor emitting from Ceres in 2012 and NASA reports the surface
of the body contains "water-bearing minerals."
Launched in
2007, the Dawn probe was sent to investigate the two largest bodies in the
asteroid belt, which lies between Mars and Jupiter.
Dawn
explored giant asteroid Vesta starting in 2011, providing measurements and
images. After 2012, the probe left Vesta's orbit and began its journey to
Ceres.
Ceres has a
diameter of about 590 miles (950 kilometers) and Vesta has a diameter of about
326 miles (525 kilometers).
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