{"id":12330,"date":"2016-03-16T06:00:56","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T10:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=12330"},"modified":"2016-03-15T01:37:35","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T05:37:35","slug":"eso-observatory-sees-daily-changes-in-bright-spots-on-ceres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=12330","title":{"rendered":"ESO: Observatory sees daily changes in bright spots on Ceres"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest report from\u00a0ESO<\/a>\u00a0(European Southern Observatory):<\/p>\n

Unexpected Changes of Bright Spots on Ceres Discovered<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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. Although Ceres appears as little more than a point of light from the Earth, very careful study of its light shows not only the changes expected as Ceres rotates, but also that the spots brighten during the day and also show other variations. These observations suggest that the material of the spots is volatile and evaporates in the warm glow of sunlight.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>
This artist\u2019s impression<\/a> is based on a detailed map of the surface compiled from images taken from NASA\u2019s Dawn spacecraft in orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres. It shows the very bright patches of material in the crater Occator and elsewhere. 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.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ceres<\/a> is the largest body in the asteroid belt<\/a> between Mars and Jupiter and the only such object classed as a dwarf planet<\/a>. NASA\u2019s Dawn<\/a><\/em> spacecraft has been in orbit around Ceres for more than a year and has mapped its surface in great detail. One of the biggest surprises<\/a> has been the discovery of very bright spots, which reflect far more light than their much darker surroundings [1]<\/a>. The most prominent of these spots lie inside the crater Occator<\/a> and suggest that Ceres may be a much more active world than most of its asteroid neighbours.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/eso1609b_convert720p.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

This artist\u2019s impression video [click here for higher resolution versions<\/a>] is based on a detailed map of the surface compiled from images taken from NASA\u2019s Dawn spacecraft in orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres. It shows the very bright patches of material in the crater Occator and elsewhere. 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

This illustration shows how the features in the spectrum of the light reflected from the bright spots is alternately red and blue shifted slightly compared to the average light of Ceres as it rotates. This very subtle effect has been measured from the ground using the HARPS spectrograph on the ESO 3.6-metre telescope at La Silla in Chile. The effect has been greatly exaggerated to make it visible and excludes the much brighter light coming from the rest of the disc of Ceres.\u00a0<\/em>Credit:\u00a0<\/strong>ESO\/L.Cal\u00e7ada\/NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/UCLA\/MPS\/DLR\/IDA\/Steve Albers<\/em><\/p>\n

New and very precise observations using the HARPS<\/a>\u00a0spectrograph at the ESO 3.6-metre telescope<\/a> at La Silla, Chile, have now not only detected the motion of the spots due to the rotation of Ceres about its axis, but also found unexpected additional variations suggesting that the material of the spots is volatile and evaporates in sunlight.<\/p>\n

\"eso1609b[1]\"<\/a>
This image<\/a> taken from NASA\u2019s Dawn spacecraft in orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres shows the very bright patches of material in the crater Occator and elsewhere. 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. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/UCLA\/MPS\/DLR\/IDA<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>The lead author of the new study, Paolo Molaro, at the INAF\u2013Trieste Astronomical Observatory<\/a>, takes up the story:<\/p>\n

“As soon as the Dawn spacecraft revealed the mysterious bright spots on the surface of Ceres, I immediately thought of the possible measurable effects from Earth. As Ceres rotates the spots approach the Earth and then recede again, which affects the spectrum of the reflected sunlight arriving at Earth.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Ceres spins every nine hours and calculations showed that the effects due to the motion of the spots towards and away from the Earth caused by this rotation would be very small, of order 20 kilometres per hour. But this motion is big enough to be measurable via the Doppler effect<\/a> with high-precision instruments such as HARPS.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/cdn.eso.org\/videos\/medium_podcast\/eso1609a.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

This artist\u2019s impression video is based on a detailed map of the surface compiled from images taken from NASA\u2019s Dawn spacecraft in orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres. It shows the very bright patches of material in the crater Occator and elsewhere. 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.\u00a0Credit:\u00a0ESO\/L.Cal\u00e7ada\/NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/UCLA\/MPS\/DLR\/IDA\/Steve Albers<\/em><\/p>\n

The team observed Ceres with HARPS for a little over two nights in July and August 2015. “The result was a surprise,”<\/em>adds Antonino Lanza, at the INAF\u2013Catania Astrophysical Observatory<\/a> and co-author of the study.<\/p>\n

“We did find the expected changes to the spectrum from the rotation of Ceres, but with considerable other variations from night to night.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The team concluded that the observed changes could be due to the presence of volatile substances that evaporate under the action of solar radiation [2]<\/a>. When the spots inside the Occator crater are on the side illuminated by the Sun they form plumes that reflect sunlight very effectively. These plumes then evaporate quickly, lose reflectivity and produce the observed changes. This effect, however, changes from night to night, giving rise to additional random patterns, on both short and longer timescales.<\/p>\n

If this interpretation is confirmed Ceres would seem to be very different from Vesta and the other main belt asteroids. Despite being relatively isolated, it seems to be internally active [3]<\/a>. Ceres is known to be rich in water, but it is unclear whether this is related to the bright spots. The energy source that drives this continual leakage of material from the surface is also unknown.<\/p>\n

Dawn is continuing to study Ceres and the behaviour of its mysterious spots. Observations from the ground with HARPS and other facilities will be able to continue even after the end of the space mission.<\/p>\n

Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a>[1] Bright\u00a0spots were also seen, with much less clarity, in earlier images of Ceres from the NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope<\/a> taken in 2003 and 2004.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[2] It has been suggested that the highly reflective material in the spots on Ceres might be freshly exposed water ice or hydrated magnesium sulphates.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[3] Many of the most internally active bodies in the Solar System, such as the large satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, are subjected to strong tidal effects due to their proximity to the massive planets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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. Although Ceres appears as little more than a point of light from the Earth, very … Continue reading ESO: Observatory sees daily changes in 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_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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":""},"categories":[75,12,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asteroids","category-astronomy","category-space-science"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-3cS","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11066,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11066","url_meta":{"origin":12330,"position":0},"title":"Some of Ceres’s bright spots covered with haze","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"While waiting for the Dawn spacecraft to spiral down to a closer look at the surface of Ceres, the situation with\u00a0the bright spots has gotten more rather than less murky: Mystery haze appears above Ceres\u2019s bright spots: Discovery bolsters idea that intriguing marks are made of ice, not salt -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Asteroids & Comets"","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids & Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"pia19579_main-1041_crop","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pia19579_main-1041_crop.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10737,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10737","url_meta":{"origin":12330,"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":11889,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11889","url_meta":{"origin":12330,"position":2},"title":"Dawn: Latest on the bright spots on Ceres","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Dawn probe investigating\u00a0the asteroid and dwarf planet Ceres has moved its orbit closer to the surface and gotten better views of those famous bright areas at the bottom of some craters: New Clues to Ceres' Bright Spots and Origins Ceres reveals some of its well-kept secrets in two new\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Asteroids & Comets"","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids & Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"PIA20180-16-640x350[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/PIA20180-16-640x3501.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11147,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11147","url_meta":{"origin":12330,"position":3},"title":"Video: Cruising over the “Weird Ceres” dwarf planet","author":"TopSpacer","date":"August 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Check out this cool video from the Dawn mission showing the bright spots and a pyramid-shaped mountain on \"Weird Ceres\": Cruise Over Ceres in New Video https:\/\/youtu.be\/Inc9BtRip04 Striking 3-D detail highlights a towering mountain, the brightest spots and other features on dwarf planet Ceres in a new video from NASA's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Asteroids & Comets"","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids & Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"pia19617-16-640x350[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/pia19617-16-640x3501.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10423,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10423","url_meta":{"origin":12330,"position":4},"title":"Dawn sees Ceres’ bright spots again","author":"TopSpacer","date":"April 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Dawn spacecraft shot past Ceres a month or so and has not been able to see the sunlight side of the dwarf planet until recently as it moves back towards a close orbit around it. It can now see the bright spots that it say on the approach to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Asteroids & Comets"","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids & Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"PIA19064_700[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/PIA19064_7001.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10359,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10359","url_meta":{"origin":12330,"position":5},"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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12330","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=12330"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12334,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12330\/revisions\/12334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}