Astronomy Picture of the Day - Salt Water Remnants on Ceres

APOD.NASA.gov ^ | 1 Sep, 2020 | Video Credit: Dawn Mission, NASA, JPL-Caltech, UCLA

[MtnClimber]

Explanation: Does Ceres have underground pockets of water? Ceres, the largest asteroid in the asteroid belt, was thought to be composed of rock and ice. At the same time, Ceres was known to have unusual bright spots on its surface. These bright spots were clearly imaged during Dawn's exciting approach in 2015. Analyses of Dawn images and spectra indicated that the bright spots arise from the residue of highly-reflective salt water that used to exist on Ceres' surface but evaporated. Recent analysis indicates that some of this water may have originated from deep inside the dwarf planet, indicating Ceres to be a kindred spirit with several Solar System moons, also thought to harbor deep water pockets. The featured video shows in false-color pink the bright evaporated brine named Cerealia Facula in Occator Crater. In 2018, the mission-successful but fuel-depleted Dawn spacecraft was placed in a distant parking orbit, keeping it away from the Ceres' surface for at least 20 years to avoid interfering with any life that might there exist.

[MtnClimber]

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[MtnClimber]

I posted this photo of Ceres bright spot since the APOD today is a video at the link.

[umgud]

This is good. Glad you posted it.

[MtnClimber]

Pinging the APOD list. The APOD today is a video at the link. I posted the previous CERES photo to show a different view of the bright spot on Ceres.

[BenLurkin]

This is hugh!

[Redcitizen]

This is Ceres news!

[Seruzawa]

Message received by Morse Code from Ceres:

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Worst case of space acne I’ve ever seen.

[Fiddlstix]

[Deaf Smith]

Salt is good.

Humans can not exist with out salt.

New marketing ploy...asteroid salt. Soon to replace sea salt, which is pretty much what all salt on Earth is.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks MtnClimber.

join or quit view topics view or post blog bookmark post new topic subscribe

[Monkey Face]

Wow. Two for the price of one. Or one astronomical catastrophe. I'll take it!

:o])

'Face

[SunkenCiv]

Whatever else it is, it is Ceres.

[Monkey Face]

AND hugh!

;o]

‘Face

[Red Badger]

[Red Badger]

[Red Badger]

[Dead Corpse]

Ceres - L. Neil Smith

[COBOL2Java]

That's a great "Calivn and Hobbes".

Here's the original Sega opening scene