The dwarf planet Ceres possesses rare attributes as NASA's Dawn spacecraft discovered ice volcanoes on its surface.
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.
Scientists have to explain how salt got to Ceres' surface, beside explaining other features including unusual crates and a tall peak with shinning slopes.
Dawn recently shared images of Ceres from an altitude of 915 miles showing the spots to be a cluster on the dwarf planet's landscape.
Dawn is 915 miles away from Ceres and is expected to inch closer later this year.
No crater was found around the mountain, surprising Ceres investigators. The mystery over the origin of the bright spots continues.
A mountain like structure with steep slopes was seen in recent images take of the planet. The images also showed bright spots but offered no clues what is causing them.
Images taken earlier this month by Dawn from an altitude of 2,700 miles above Ceres show the spots in greater detail than before.
Dawn captured its most detailed ever photo of the dwarf planet from 3,200 miles on May 23.
The spacecraft captured its closest ever image of the planet's surface where the spots are located.
Scientists think ice on the dwarf planet is reflecting sunlight.
Dawn is set to enter into an orbit around dwarf planet Ceres on March 6.
09 Aug '24 16:35PM