Posted on 08/26/2015 4:43:21 PM PDT by BenLurkin
The Dawn spacecraft is now orbiting just 1,470 kilometers (915 miles) above Ceres’ surface, and the science team released these latest images. Above is a closest view yet of the so-called ‘pyramid’ on Ceres, although the closer Dawn gets, the less this feature looks like a pyramid. It’s actually more like a conical mountain with a flat top, almost like a butte.
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The mountain is located in the southern hemisphere, and stands 6 kilometers (4 miles) high. Visible on the sides of the mountain are narrow braided fractures and an intriguing bright area. Only time will tell if this bright region is similar to the mysterious bright spots seen in previous Dawn images of Ceres. The team released additional images as well.
As Dawn slowly moves ever-closer to Ceres surface, the team says the spacecraft is performing well.
“Dawn is performing flawlessly in this new orbit as it conducts its ambitious exploration. The spacecraft’s view is now three times as sharp as in its previous mapping orbit, revealing exciting new details of this intriguing dwarf planet,” said Marc Rayman, Dawn’s chief engineer and mission director, based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
Dawn is currently taking images to try and map the entire surface. This will 11 days at this altitude and each 11-day cycle consists of 14 orbits. Over the next two months, the spacecraft will map the entirety of Ceres six times.
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There’s still a debate about the unusually bright spots in some of Ceres craters that appear when the asteroid/dwarf planet turns into the sunlight. The team has speculated that they could be frozen pools of water ice, or patches of light-colored, salt-rich material.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
ping
Odd indeed.
They can’t be ceres. This is hugh!
This is incorrect. The bright spots don't seem to vary with sun/viewing angle like reflections would. That's the unsolved part.
It’s made of pure gold! ;-)
Thanks BenLurkin, extra to APoD.
Look at it a little more.
It clearly is reflected light. Probably some sort of glass like rock.
No Problem! Since many cosmologists don’t believe in God. It’s simple! There is infinite number of universes, so there is an infinite number of anomalies. Given enough time anything can be explained away without a Supreme Designer!
It’s the mothership.
Someone down below is looking up thinking “That damn drone is back again!”
Metallic asteroid striking the surface at a relitively small delta V?
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