{"id":10631,"date":"2015-05-22T16:13:56","date_gmt":"2015-05-22T20:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10631"},"modified":"2015-05-23T00:55:08","modified_gmt":"2015-05-23T04:55:08","slug":"latest-dawn-image-of-bright-spots-on-ceres-surface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10631","title":{"rendered":"Latest Dawn image of bright spots on Ceres surface"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Dawn<\/a>\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:<\/p>\n

[ Update<\/strong>: Lots more Ceres images with\u00a0Emily Lakdawalla<\/a>‘s commentary:\u00a0Tons of fun with the latest Ceres image releases from Dawn –\u00a0The Planetary Society<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

Ceres Bright Spots Seen Closer Than Ever<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

NASA’s Dawn mission captured a sequence of images, taken for navigation purposes, of dwarf planet Ceres on May 16, 2015. The image showcases the group of the brightest spots on Ceres, which continue to mystify scientists. It was taken from a distance of 4,500 miles (7,200 kilometers) and has a resolution of 2,250 feet (700 meters) per pixel.<\/p>\n

\"pia19559-16-640x350[1]\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Dawn scientists can now conclude that the intense brightness of these spots is due to the reflection of sunlight by highly reflective material on the surface, possibly ice,” Christopher Russell, principal investigator for the Dawn mission from the University of California, Los Angeles, said recently.<\/p>\n

Dawn arrived at Ceres on March 6, marking the first time a spacecraft has orbited a dwarf planet. Previously, the spacecraft explored giant asteroid Vesta for 14 months from 2011 to 2012. Dawn has the distinction of being the only spacecraft to orbit two extraterrestrial targets.<\/p>\n

The spacecraft has been using its ion propulsion system to maneuver to its second mapping orbit at Ceres, which it will reach on June 6. The spacecraft will remain at a distance of 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers) from the dwarf planet until June 30. Afterward, it will make its way to lower orbits.<\/p>\n

Dawn’s mission is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, 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 more information about the Dawn mission, visit:\u00a0dawn.jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

NASA JPL has set up a site where you can vote on what you think is creating the shiny spots:\u00a0What’s the spot on World Ceres<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"world_ceres_640[1]\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.] Ceres Bright Spots Seen Closer … Continue reading Latest Dawn image of bright spots on Ceres surface<\/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-10631","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-2Lt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10817,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10817","url_meta":{"origin":10631,"position":0},"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":10737,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10737","url_meta":{"origin":10631,"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":10571,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10571","url_meta":{"origin":10631,"position":2},"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":10004,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10004","url_meta":{"origin":10631,"position":3},"title":"Dawn sees double bright spots on Ceres","author":"TopSpacer","date":"February 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Asteroids & Comets"","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids & Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"PIA19185_ip[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/PIA19185_ip1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10359,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10359","url_meta":{"origin":10631,"position":4},"title":"Dawn images show diversity in surface of Ceres","author":"TopSpacer","date":"April 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0Dawn\u00a0spacecraft continues to move towards a close orbit of Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt. (See recent report here on Dawn's status.) \u00a0The spacecraft has not yet begun making new images of the dwarf planet. Here is a report on analysis of the planet's surface using imaging data\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Asteroids & Comets"","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids & Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"PIA19063_ip[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/PIA19063_ip1-1024x354.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12330,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=12330","url_meta":{"origin":10631,"position":5},"title":"ESO: Observatory sees daily changes in bright spots on Ceres","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest report from\u00a0ESO\u00a0(European Southern Observatory): Unexpected Changes of Bright Spots on Ceres Discovered Observations made using the HARPS spectrograph at ESO\u2019s La Silla Observatory in Chile have revealed unexpected changes in the bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres. 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New observations using the HARPS spectrograph on the ESO 3.6-metre telescope at La Silla in Chile have revealed unexpected daily changes on these spots, suggesting that they change under the influence of sunlight as Ceres rotates. \u00a0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/eso1609a1-1024x614.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10631"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10637,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10631\/revisions\/10637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}