Dwarf planet Ceres powers its geological activity using radioactive materials below its crust [per computer model]

.zmescience.com ^ | August 4, 2022 | Alexandru Micu

[BenLurkin]

Humanity didn’t get any good views of the surface of Ceres until 2015, when NASA’s Dawn mission snapped the first (relatively) close-by images of the dwarf planet. With these, came the revelation that Ceres’ surface is surprisingly diverse in terms of structures and composition. In turn, this pointed to unexpected levels of geological activity brewing unseen below the crust.

Ceres, as its classification of a dwarf planet suggests, is very small. So small... that researchers were absolutely convinced that it had cooled down completely all the way to its core and that it was, geologically speaking, a dead world. What Dawn was telling us of the surface of Ceres revealed that it was anything but that.

Among the structures Dawn captured was a large plateau on one side of Ceres (similar in size and nature to the continents of Earth), a localized series of fractures in its crust, and mineral deposits that hinted at an ancient, evaporated ocean. All of these structures could only have been created through geological activity powered by immense quantities of internal heat.

The model that best explained what the team was seeing on Ceres showed a unique sequence of events. The dwarf planet started out cold but heated up due to the radioactive decay of elements such as uranium and thorium. This was enough to maintain its geological activity, but, eventually, it drove the inner structures of Ceres towards upheaval.

This chain of events is supported by the presence of some of the surface features spotted by Dawn only on one part of Ceres. The large plateau did not have a counterpart on the other side of the planet. Fracture systems were clustered in a single location around this plateau and similarly did not have a counterpart on the other face of Ceres.

[100%FEDUP]

So it could be a Death Star battle station, powered by nuclear energy, waiting for its time to strike?

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks BenLurkin.

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[The Louiswu]

You know what happens when you have a bunch of nuclear material buried underground

[corkoman]

Ceres station has a big role in the series The Expanse - super good show.

[frithguild]

I have used my tag line for many years.

[algore]

I never heard of the planet Ceres

But regardless of what the Science now says, Pluto will always be a Planet to me

[immadashell]

Is this the same computer model used to predict local temperatures next year or U.S. elections in November? Just askin’

[telescope115]

It’s a minor planet-an asteroid.

[TheDon]

Born and raised on Ceres.

[Verginius Rufus]

Ceres used to be called an asteroid. They started calling it a dwarf planet after they created that category for Pluto, so Pluto wouldn't be all by itself.

Ceres was discovered on the first night of the 19th century (Jan. 1, 1801) by an astronomer who was a native of Sicily, so he named it for the patron goddess of Sicily.