Mysterious Bright Spots On Dwarf Planet Ceres Might Be Changing

The mystery behind the bright spots on dwarf planet Ceres have been a subject of discussion among scientists across the world. A new scientific study has found that these mysterious bright spots on Ceres might actually be changing. 

A team of scientists suspect that with the reflecting areas on the dwarf planet Ceres appear dim and bright depending on the amount of sunlight that falls on it. The team used the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) La Silla Observatory to observe the pattern.

The study findings are based on the two-night observations made by the scientists in 2015. The findings suggest that whatever is causing reflectivity on Ceres is evaporating as sunlight hits it.

In other words, the findings suggest that when sunlight hits the patches in the crater, a vapor-like reflective material emerge, which eventually evaporates.

"The result was a surprise," said Antonino Lanza, co-author of the study, in a press statement. "We did find the expected changes to the spectrum from the rotation of Ceres, but with considerable other variations from night to night."

NASA's Dawn spacecraft is currently orbiting around the mysterious dwarf planet. The spacecraft continuously sends data back to Earth, providing a glimpse into the dwarf planet. Recently, Dawn released data showing detailed view of the mysterious bright spots of Ceres.

The authors of the new study said that they immediately thought of the possible measurable effects from Earth as soon as the data was reflected back by the Dawn spacecraft.

The co-author of the study, Paolo Molaro, explains that the spots appear to approach Earth with the rotation of Ceres and then recede again. This phenomenon tends to affect the spectrum of the reflected sunlight arriving at Earth.

Scientists from around the world have been trying to figure out the composition of the bright spots for years. However, more data and scientific studies are needed to arrive at a definite conclusion.

The complete details of the study have been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.