Ice Volcanoes on Ceres Baffles Scientists

Observing near-Earth objects help scientists in understanding the universe. The dwarf planet Ceres has always been an interesting subject for experts but a recent study shows that the celestial body possesses rare volcanoes that emit ice.

Ceres is a dwarf planet about 600 miles wide and it orbits the Sun from its position between Mars and Jupiter.  The Ahuna Mons, a 13,000 feet high volcano on Ceres is about 11 miles wide on the bottom. What baffles scientists is the fact that the lava of ice from its rare volcano formed Ahuna Mons.

The journal Science recently released a lot of studies involving the dwarf planet Ceres. This proves how much there is to discover about the dwarf planet, according to a report.

"Ahuna is the one true 'mountain' on Ceres," David A. Williams, associate research professor in Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration said in a statement. "After studying it closely, we interpret it as a dome raised by cryovolcanism," Williams added.

NASA's Dawn spacecraft is responsible for the discovery of the ice volcanoes on Ceres. Based on the data gathered by the spacecraft, Ahuna Mons is embedded above the dwarf planet's surface and it bears impact craters with no vertical exaggeration. Unlike the hot, flaming lava that formed volcanoes on Earth, Ahuna Mons was formed with salty and muddy water from the volcanoes eruption. The freezing lava flows and hardens into place.

Experts say that the bizarre ice volcanoes are a form of low-temperature volcanic activity. This volcanic movement is composed of melted ice water that is infused with salt and ammonia and Ahuna Mons is a gigantic example of a formation created through a repeated eruption process of an ice volcano.

Dwarf planet update: #Ceres may have a giant ice volcano and a temporary atmosphere https://t.co/u4kRyeJICx pic.twitter.com/UBGkRzNeGJ

— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) September 1, 2016

Scientists are carefully analyzing the rare ice volcano in Ceres since the discovery of this type of volcano is very seldom. "There is nothing quite like Ahuna Mons in the solar system," Lucy McFadden, co-author of the study and a scientist at NASA Goddard said in a statement. "It's the first cryovolcano we've seen that was produced by a brine and clay mix. ... Ceres, which orbits between Mars and the gas giant Jupiter, is interesting because it appears to be a transition object - it's not completely rocky, but it's not an ice world either," MacFadden added.

With the recent findings about Ceres, scientists will more likely to delve deeper into understanding the dwarf planet and its bizarre properties.