Puzzling Bright Spots on Dwarf Planet Ceres   
       
   Feb 27, 2015:  Cruising through the asteroid belt, NASA Dawn spacecraft is   
   approaching dwarf planet Ceres, and some puzzling features are coming into   
   focus.   
       
   "We expected to be surprised by Ceres," says Chris Russell, principal   
   investigator of the Dawn mission, based at UCLA. "We did not expect to be this   
   puzzled."   
       
   The camera on Dawn can now see Ceres more clearly than any previous image   
   taken of the dwarf planet, revealing craters and mysterious bright spots.   
       
   http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn/pia19056/#.VPCt0eFG8VQ   
       
   These two views of Ceres were acquired by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on Feb. 12,   
   2015, from a distance of about 52,000 miles (83,000 kilometers) as the dwarf   
   planet rotated. The images have been magnified from their original size. Image   
   Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA   
       
   "We already knew from the Hubble Space Telescope that there were bright   
   regions on Ceres," says Russell. "However, those images of the bright spots,   
   taken more than 180 million miles away, appear to be large."   
       
   At close-range, Dawn's camera is revealing something different.   
       
   "As Dawn has come closer to Ceres, the bright spots have become brighter and   
   smaller. Indeed, they are much brighter than the surrounding landscape and   
   still unresolved in our images. The point of origin must be very small."   
       
   "Another way to express this is with fractals," he adds. "Most of the   
   planetary surfaces we see are cratered in a random pattern. When you get   
   closer, just as with fractals, the surface looks the same regardless of scale."   
       
   "However, the bright spot is telling us that there is a phenomenon that acts   
   on a very small scale and NOT at the larger scale of the cratering."   
       
   http://tinyurl.com/np7m7x8   
       
   Ceres as seen years ago with Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, J.   
   Parker (Southwest Research Institute), P. Thomas (Cornell University), and L.   
   McFadden (University of Maryland, College Park) "And since I don't have a clue   
   what this is I am puzzled."   
       
   The view is about to improve even more. Dawn will be gently captured into   
   orbit around Ceres on March 6, beginning a mission to map, explore and   
   understand the dwarf planet. By the time Dawn is in its lowest altitude orbit   
   at the end of this year, its pictures will be well over 800 times better than   
   Hubble's.   
       
   "Even though Ceres is in the asteroid belt, it is entirely unlike asteroids,"   
   says Dawn's mission director, chief engineer and lead blogger Marc Rayman.   
       
   With an equatorial diameter of about 605 miles, Ceres has a surface area 38   
   percent of that of the continental United States, or four times the area of   
   Texas, writes Rayman in his blog. Its size, nearly spherical shape and other   
   factors have led astronomers to classify it as a dwarf planet.  Moreover, it   
   is the largest body between the sun and Pluto (another dwarf planet) that has   
   never been visited by a spacecraft.   
       
   "Earth is about to be introduced to a fascinating new world," says Rayman.   
       
   Bright spots could be just the beginning of the surprises in store.  Stay   
   tuned to Science@NASA for updates.   
       
   Credits:   
   Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit:   
   Science@NASA   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.99   
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