{"id":10004,"date":"2015-02-26T00:27:19","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T05:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10004"},"modified":"2015-02-26T00:27:19","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T05:27:19","slug":"dawn-sees-double-bright-spots-on-ceres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10004","title":{"rendered":"Dawn sees double bright spots on Ceres"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the Dawn<\/a> spacecraft closes in on the dwarf planet Ceres, it appears someone left the lights on:<\/p>\n

‘Bright Spot’ on Ceres Has Dimmer Companion<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dwarf planet Ceres continues to puzzle scientists as NASA’s Dawn spacecraft gets closer to being captured into orbit around the object. The latest images from Dawn, taken nearly 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers) from Ceres, reveal that a bright spot that stands out in previous images lies close to yet another bright area.<\/p>\n

\"PIA19185_ip[1]\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This image<\/a> was taken by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft of dwarf planet Ceres on Feb. 19 from a distance of nearly 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers). It shows that the brightest spot on Ceres has a dimmer companion, which apparently lies in the same basin.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Ceres’ bright spot can now be seen to have a companion of lesser brightness, but apparently in the same basin. This may be pointing to a volcano-like origin of the spots, but we will have to wait for better resolution before we can make such geologic interpretations,” said Chris Russell, principal investigator for the Dawn mission, based at the University of California, Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Using its ion propulsion system, Dawn will enter orbit around Ceres on March 6. As scientists receive better and better views of the dwarf planet over the next 16 months, they hope to gain a deeper understanding of its origin and evolution by studying its surface. The intriguing bright spots and other interesting features of this captivating world will come into sharper focus.<\/p>\n

\"PIA19183_ip[1]\"<\/a><\/p>\n

These images<\/a> of dwarf planet Ceres, processed to enhance clarity, were taken on Feb. 19, 2015, from a distance of about 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers), by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. Dawn observed Ceres completing one full rotation, which lasted about nine hours.<\/em><\/p>\n

The images show the full range of different crater shapes that can be found at Ceres’ surface: from shallow, flattish craters to those with peaks at their centers. These views show sections of Ceres’ surface that are similar to those in PIA19056<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

“The brightest spot continues to be too small to resolve with our camera, but despite its size it is brighter than anything else on Ceres. This is truly unexpected and still a mystery to us,” said Andreas Nathues, lead investigator for the framing camera team at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Gottingen, Germany.<\/p>\n

Dawn visited the giant asteroid Vesta from 2011 to 2012, delivering more than 30,000 images of the body along with many other measurements, and providing insights about its composition and geological history. Vesta has an average diameter of 326 miles (525 kilometers), while Ceres has an average diameter of 590 miles (950 kilometers). Vesta and Ceres are the two most massive bodies in the asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter.<\/p>\n

\"PIA19184_hires[1]\"<\/a><\/p>\n

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft obtained these uncropped images<\/a> of dwarf planet Ceres on Feb. 19, 2015, from a distance of about 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers). They are part of a series taken as Dawn observed Ceres completing one full rotation, which lasted about nine hours.<\/em><\/p>\n

The images show the full range of different crater shapes that can be found at Ceres’ surface: from shallow, flattish craters to those with peaks at their centers. These views show sections of Ceres’ surface that are similar to those in PIA19056<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dawn’s mission is managed by JPL for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate’s Discovery Program, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK, Inc., in Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team. For a complete list of acknowledgements, visit:\u00a0dawn.jpl.nasa.gov\/mission<\/a><\/p>\n

For information about NASA’s Dawn mission, visit:\u00a0dawn.jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the Dawn spacecraft closes in on the dwarf planet Ceres, it appears someone left the lights on: ‘Bright Spot’ on Ceres Has Dimmer Companion Dwarf planet Ceres continues to puzzle scientists as NASA’s Dawn spacecraft gets closer to being captured into orbit around the object. The latest images from Dawn, taken nearly 29,000 miles … Continue reading Dawn sees double bright spots on Ceres<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[75,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asteroids","category-space-science"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-2Bm","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10631,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10631","url_meta":{"origin":10004,"position":0},"title":"Latest Dawn image of bright spots on Ceres surface","author":"TopSpacer","date":"May 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0Dawn\u00a0probe is getting closer to the giant asteroid (or dwarf planet depending on your classification preference) and taking better images of those odd bright spots on the surface: [ Update: Lots more Ceres images with\u00a0Emily Lakdawalla's commentary:\u00a0Tons of fun with the latest Ceres image releases from Dawn -\u00a0The Planetary Society.]\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Asteroids & Comets"","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids & Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"pia19559-16-640x350[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/pia19559-16-640x3501.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10737,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10737","url_meta":{"origin":10004,"position":1},"title":"Dawn at Ceres: Latest photos of the ‘bright spots’ and other areas","author":"TopSpacer","date":"June 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest\u00a0photos of Ceres from the Dawn spacecraft: The brightest spots on dwarf planet Ceres are seen in this image taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on June 6, 2015.\u00a0\u00a0Full image and caption Bright Spots Shine in Newest Dawn Ceres Images New images of dwarf planet Ceres, taken by NASA's Dawn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Asteroids & Comets"","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids & Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"pia19568_main-1041[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19568_main-10411.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10817,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10817","url_meta":{"origin":10004,"position":2},"title":"Latest Dawn images of Ceres – Bright spots and a mountain stand out","author":"TopSpacer","date":"June 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0Dawn\u00a0spacecraft returns new photos of the dwarf planet Ceres: Ceres Spots Continue to Mystify in Latest Dawn Images The closer we get to Ceres, the more intriguing the distant dwarf planet becomes. New images of Ceres from NASA\u2019s Dawn spacecraft provide more clues about its mysterious bright spots, and also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Asteroids & Comets"","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids & Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"pia19579_main-1041","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19579_main-1041-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10571,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10571","url_meta":{"origin":10004,"position":3},"title":"New Dawn images of Ceres and its bright spots","author":"TopSpacer","date":"May 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Dawn probe is now moving to where it can see most all of the dwarf planet Ceres. Here's the latest image of the dwarf planet and those shiny spots: Ceres Animation Showcases Bright Spots Click for larger image. This animation shows a sequence of images taken by NASA's Dawn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Asteroids & Comets"","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids & Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"PIA19547-home[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/PIA19547-home1-1024x560.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11332,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11332","url_meta":{"origin":10004,"position":4},"title":"Dawn probe sends new images of Ceres and its mysterious bright spots","author":"TopSpacer","date":"September 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Dawn mission releases new images of the dwarf planet Ceres in the asteroid belt and of those odd bright spots: Ceres' Bright Spots Seen in Striking New Detail The brightest spots on the dwarf planet Ceres gleam with mystery in new views delivered by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. 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