Bright spots on dwarf planet Ceres seen in greater detail

CBS ^ | September 9, 2015, 6:59 PM | WIlliam Harwood

[BenLurkin]

The latest images from Dawn reveal surface features as small as 450 feet across. The two bright spots are now resolved into one very bright area near the center of a crater known as Occator with about eight smaller concentrations to one side surrounding an area where the deposits appear more spread out.

Researchers with the Dawn project have not yet weighed in on what the bright material might be or how it got there.

"Although our data are now of higher resolution, we're still missing key pieces of information that we really need to know the whole picture," Carol Raymond, the Dawn deputy principal investigator, told CBS News.

"Essentially, the important information we're missing is the detailed chemistry of these deposits. We won't know that until we complete the spectral mapping and have fully analyzed those data. Then, as we get much closer to the surface, we'll be able to better resolve at the level of these individual deposits and assess whether these bright materials are all the same or are there different flavors of the constituents?"

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks BenLurkin, extra to APoD.

[TigersEye]

I don’t know what that white stuff is but they should rename it Tony Montana Crater.

[BlueDragon]

Galactic seagull droppin's

like a Big-Bird flyby air orbital pass drop on target shot.

I wonder how much he had to lead it in order to hit bullseye...

[rrrod]

Dwarfs have their own planet? Cool!

[AngelesCrestHighway]

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Its the soft chewy marshmallow center of Ceres which due to tidal gravitational forces is leaking out from the center vent of the meteor crater as well a from several lateral vents. It could also be methane ice, but I would rather have marshmallow than popsicle!

[brivette]

and Hughes!