{"id":6282,"date":"2014-01-31T06:34:22","date_gmt":"2014-01-31T06:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6282"},"modified":"2014-01-31T21:24:40","modified_gmt":"2014-01-31T21:24:40","slug":"asteroid-ceres-spouting-water-vapor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6282","title":{"rendered":"Asteroid Ceres spouting water vapor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The European <a href=\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/Our_Activities\/Space_Science\/Herschel\/Herschel_at_a_glance\" target=\"_blank\">Hershel<\/a> infrared space telescope has detected water vapor emissions from <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ceres_(dwarf_planet)\" target=\"_blank\">Ceres<\/a>, \u00a0the largest asteroid (it&#8217;s also called a dwarf planet):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/Our_Activities\/Space_Science\/Herschel\/Herschel_discovers_water_vapour_around_dwarf_planet_Ceres\" target=\"_d\">Herschel discovers water vapour around dwarf planet Ceres &#8211; \u00a0Herschel\/ ESA<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/dawn.jpl.nasa.gov\/feature_stories\/HerschelTelescope_DetectsWater_Ceres.asp\" target=\"_d\">Herschel Telescope Detects Water on Dwarf Planet &#8211; Dawn<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>From the last item:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>Scientists believe Ceres contains rock in its interior with a thick mantle of ice that, if melted, would amount to more fresh water than is present on all of Earth. The materials making up Ceres likely date from the first few million years of our solar system&#8217;s existence and accumulated before the planets formed.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>Until now, ice had been theorized to exist on Ceres but had not been detected conclusively. It took Herschel&#8217;s far-infrared vision to see, finally, a clear spectral signature of the water vapor. But Herschel did not see water vapor every time it looked. While the telescope spied water vapor four different times, on one occasion there was no signature.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>Here is what scientists think is happening: when Ceres swings through the part of its orbit that is closer to the sun, a portion of its icy surface becomes warm enough to cause water vapor to escape in plumes at a rate of about 6 kilograms (13 pounds) per second. When Ceres is in the colder part of its orbit, no water escapes.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/ESA_Multimedia\/Images\/2014\/01\/Artist_s_impression_of_Ceres\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2014\/01\/artist_s_impression_of_ceres\/13498472-1-eng-GB\/Artist_s_impression_of_Ceres_large.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" \/><\/a><em>Artist\u2019s impression of Ceres<\/em><\/p>\n<p>NASA&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/dawn.jpl.nasa.gov\/\" target=\"_d\">Dawn spacecraft<\/a>\u00a0will reach\u00a0Ceres in the summer of 2015. \u00a0Launched in September 2007, Dawn investigated the asteroid\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/4_Vesta\" target=\"_d\">Vesta<\/a>\u00a0until July 2012 and then began moving towards Ceres, where it will have a lot of interesting science to pursue.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;-<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a discussion of the Ceres finding and teh significance of so much water among the asteroids:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/space\/telescopes\/why-it-matters-that-theres-so-much-water-in-the-asteroid-belt-16434422?click=pm_latest\" target=\"_d\">Why It Matters That There&#8217;s So Much Water in the Asteroid Belt &#8211; Popular Mechanics<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8212;-<\/p>\n<p>Asteroid specialist\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/humbertocampins.com\/\" target=\"_d\">Humberto Campins<\/a>\u00a0spoke about the Ceres findings with\u00a0David Livingston and John Batchelor on Wednesday :\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/thespaceshow.wordpress.com\/2014\/01\/30\/john-batchelor-hotel-mars-wednesday-1-29-14\/\" target=\"_d\">John Batchelor Hotel Mars, Wednesday, 1-29-14 &#8211; Thespaceshow&#8217;s Blog<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The European Hershel infrared space telescope has detected water vapor emissions from Ceres, \u00a0the largest asteroid (it&#8217;s also called a dwarf planet): Herschel discovers water vapour around dwarf planet Ceres &#8211; \u00a0Herschel\/ ESA Herschel Telescope Detects Water on Dwarf Planet &#8211; Dawn From the last item: Scientists believe Ceres contains rock in its interior with &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6282\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Asteroid Ceres spouting water vapor<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/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":[75,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6282","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-1Dk","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11889,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=11889","url_meta":{"origin":6282,"position":0},"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 &quot;Asteroids &amp; Comets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids &amp; 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":9770,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9770","url_meta":{"origin":6282,"position":1},"title":"Dawn returns best-ever images of dwarf planet Ceres","author":"TopSpacer","date":"January 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Dawn spacecraft moves closer to the dwarf planet Ceres in the asteroid belt (compare to a week ago). NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Captures Best-Ever View of Dwarf Planet January 27, 2015\u2014NASA's Dawn spacecraft has returned the sharpest images ever seen of the dwarf planet Ceres. The images were taken 147,000\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Asteroids &amp; Comets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids &amp; Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ceres_OpNav2_Anim_v2[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Ceres_OpNav2_Anim_v21.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13150,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13150","url_meta":{"origin":6282,"position":2},"title":"Dawn Mission: Latest research results shows Ceres is an icy world with a &#8220;cryovolcano&#8221;","author":"TopSpacer","date":"September 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0Dawn probe\u00a0orbiting Ceres in the Asteroid Belt has returned new information\u00a0\u00a0about the dwarf planet. Below are summaries of several new findings: Ceres' Geological Activity, Ice Revealed in New Research\u00a0 A lonely 3-mile-high (5-kilometer-high) mountain on Ceres is likely volcanic in origin, and the dwarf planet may have a weak, temporary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Asteroids &amp; Comets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids &amp; Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"PIA20915-640x350[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/PIA20915-640x3501.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12330,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=12330","url_meta":{"origin":6282,"position":3},"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. Although Ceres appears as little more than a point of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Asteroids &amp; Comets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids &amp; Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"This artist\u2019s impression 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. \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":[]},{"id":10035,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10035","url_meta":{"origin":6282,"position":4},"title":"New images from Dawn spacecraft as it approaches the dwarf planet Ceres","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest news about NASA's Dawn spacecraft and its approach to Ceres: NASA Spacecraft Nears Historic Dwarf Planet Arrival \u00a0 Ceres rotates in this sped-up movie comprised of images taken by NASA's Dawn mission during its approach to the dwarf planet. The images were taken on Feb. 19, 2015, from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Asteroids &amp; Comets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids &amp; Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"15-027-ceres-gif-650[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/15-027-ceres-gif-6501.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9572,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9572","url_meta":{"origin":6282,"position":5},"title":"Dawn probe moves closer to dwarf planet Ceres","author":"TopSpacer","date":"January 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"NASA's\u00a0Dawn\u00a0is getting closer to Ceres, the largest asteroid and now classified as a dwarf planet. Ceres is particularly interesting because it has a thick layer\u00a0of water ice. Dawn Spacecraft Begins Approach to Dwarf Planet Ceres \u2022 Dawn has entered its approach phase toward Ceres \u2022 The spacecraft will arrive at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Asteroids &amp; Comets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids &amp; Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"PIA17650-1280x800[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/PIA17650-1280x8001-1024x640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6282","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=6282"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6291,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6282\/revisions\/6291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}