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September 2015 - A Sight from Above
Report #7 - August 2015
Water on Asteroids?
What if we told you that there might be liquid water under an icy surface on a dwarf planet that is 590 miles in diamter? One that is one-tenth the size of our moon and is located in the asteroid belt that separates Mars and Jupiter?
The Potential Water Host: Ceres
On March 6, 2015, one of NASA's spacecrafts, known as "Dawn," started orbiting around a dwarf planet located in the asteroid belt. This dwarf planet is known as "Ceres." the largest known asteroid in the asteroid belt contrary to the fact that it is only a tiny fraction the size of the moon. Also, thanks to pictures of Ceres taken by Dawn during its approach, the asteroid appears to be decked out in craters, just like our moon. When Ceres is categorized as a "dwarf planet," this means that the celestial body has a differentiated core and crust, and, if you are familiar with Pluto's latest demotion, Pluto is also classified as a dwarf planet.
NASA's spacecraft Dawn.
Ceres' History with Water
Spacecraft Dawn's images of Ceres reveal more than just craters, but also bright patches, or spots, that are believed by scientists to be "desposits" left by liquid water. With this information, Ceres is thought to contain at least 25 to 30 percent water. Where may this water exist? As said earlier, a portion of this percent of water is thought to be located under the dwarf planet's icy surface in liquid form. With Dawn in orbit around Ceres for its year-long mission, scientists are optimistic that Ceres' many curiosites, from composition to internal structure, will be answered and better understood.
"Dawn Nears Ceres - Approach Images, Movies and Animations" Youtube Video
Watch spacecraft Dawn in images as it neared Ceres.
Taken 30,000 miles away by spacecraft Dawn, this image illusrates a shadowed Ceres.
This image is another taken by spacecraft Dawn. This time, the white bright dots, as discussed earlier, are visible.
Ceres in comparision in size to the moon and Earth.
This image is a two-dimensional "projection" that vividly highlights the many craters Ceres carries. Such craters look to have resulted from a substantial amount of collisions and impacts from other space debris and rocks over extended periods of time.
SOURCES:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Cover image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
Ceres video and images courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=11758