Ceres Archives

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Ceres, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Exploration Gear & Tech, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Mimas, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Through-Ice Acoustic Communication For Ocean Worlds Exploration

by Keith CowingSeptember 22, 2024September 22, 2024

Subsurface exploration of ice-covered planets and moons presents communications challenges because of the need to communicate through kilometers of ice. The objective of this task is to develop the capability […]

Artist’s rendition of variety of exoplanets featured in the new NASA TESS-Keck Survey Mass Catalog, the largest, single, homogenous analysis of TESS planets released by any survey thus far. Credit: W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko

Alpha Centauri, Astrogeology, Beta Pictoris, Ceres, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Pluto, Proxima Centauri, Saturn, Status Report, tau Ceti, TRAPPIST-1, Uranus, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Classifications For Exoplanet and Exoplanetary Systems

by Keith CowingSeptember 17, 2024September 17, 2024

When a star is described as a spectral class G2V, we know its approximate mass, temperature, age, and size. At more than 5,700 exoplanets discovered, it is a natural developmental […]

Left column: Both colorbar and isolines show fit quality as a function of planetesimal radius R and accretion time for CR1-3 chondrites (first row) and the Flensburg chondite (second row). Best-fit accretion times correspond from top to bottom to Ma and Ma. The exemplary parent bodies from the respective minimum fit quality regions with km and Ma and km and Ma, from top to bottom, are indicated with red dots. Right column: Thermal evolution at the best-fit depths d of respective meteorites for representative best-fit parent bodies indicated by red dots in the left column. Dashed red lines show the maximum metamorphic temperature estimates from petrological constraints (see also supplementary material). Color patches show PB accretion time intervals. The accretion time of the CR clan Tafassite PB is included for completeness. -- Scientific Reports

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Ceres, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Mercury, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Building Materials For Water-rich Planets In The Early Solar System

by Keith CowingJuly 25, 2024July 25, 2024

Age data for certain classes of meteorite have made it possible to gain new findings on the origin of small water-rich astronomical bodies in the early solar system. These so-called […]

Additional bright deposits in shadowed craters proposed by Platz et al. (2016) shown at the highest available resolution in clear filter LAMO images, with the FC image number indicated. Images are shown as unprojected 150 × 150 pixel-sized crops with the contrast enhanced in shadowed areas. (a), (b), and (c) deposit #4. (d) and (e) #5. (f) #7. (g) #8. (h) #9. (i) #10. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Ceres, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Spectral Properties Of Bright Deposits In Permanently Shadowed Craters On Ceres

by Keith CowingJuly 24, 2024July 24, 2024

Bright deposits in permanently shadowed craters on Ceres are thought to harbor water ice. However, the evidence for water ice presented thus far is indirect.

Top panel: FC2 spectral endmember O (organic-rich), B (global Ceres background), and S (shade), respectively. Bottom panel: RGB map where the abundance of the endmember O is represented in red, the endmember B in green, and the S in blue. The pixel scale of this mosaic is ~136 m/pixel and the images were acquired with a phase value of ~50. Ernutet is the central crater (pointed by the yellow arrow) of the scene in which the organics are visible. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Ceres, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

New Candidates for Organic-rich Regions on Ceres

by Keith CowingJune 24, 2024June 24, 2024

We explore the spatial distribution of organics on Ceres using the visible and near-infrared data collected by the Dawn mission.

Irradiation of NaPyr Under Ceres Conditions

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Ceres, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Photochemical Stability and Reactivity of Sodium Pyruvate: Implications for Organic Analysis on Ceres

by Keith CowingJune 19, 2024June 19, 2024

The dwarf planet Ceres is a high-priority target for future solar system exploration within this decade. This is motivated by the detection of organics by NASA’s Dawn mission as well […]

Term-map analysis results by VOSviewer depicting three major emerging clusters in astrobiology research with different levels of interconnection among terms. The top 300 linkages are represented. A term’s importance is indicated by the size of the circle. -- Life

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrobiology (general), Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Ceres, Enceladus, Europa, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Life Support Systems, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Mimas, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Space Life Science, Status Report, Titan, Tricorders & Sensors, Triton, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Marine Science Can Contribute to the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life

by Keith CowingJune 9, 2024June 9, 2024

Abstract: Life on our planet likely evolved in the ocean, and thus exo-oceans are key habitats to search for extraterrestrial life. We conducted a data-driven bibliographic survey on the astrobiology […]

Side view of the ejecta curtain created during a hypervelocity impact experiment at the NASA Ames Vertical Gun Range. The experiment was designed to investigate the effects of impacts on Ceres’ organics. Credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Ceres, Impact events, Press Release

Hypervelocity Impact Experiments Probe The Origin Of Organics On The Dwarf Planet Ceres

by Keith CowingOctober 16, 2023October 16, 2023

One of the most exciting findings from NASA’s Dawn mission is that Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter, hosts complex organics.