Anomalies in the distribution of hydrogen at Occator crater on the dwarf planet Ceres reveal an icy crust, says a new paper led by Tom Prettyman, a Senior Scientist at […]
Ceres
Posted inCeres
Spectrophotometric Modeling and Mapping of Ceres
We report a comprehensive analysis of the global spectrophotometric properties of Ceres using Dawn Framing Camera images collected from April to June 2015 during the RC3 and Survey mission phases. […]
Posted inCeres, Press Release
Evidence for Carbon-Rich Surface on Ceres
A team led by Southwest Research Institute has concluded that the surface of dwarf planet Ceres is rich in organic matter. Data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft indicate that Ceres’ surface […]
Posted inCeres, Press Release
Organics On Ceres May Be More Abundant Than Originally Thought
Last year, scientists with NASA’s Dawn mission announced the detection of organic material — carbon-based compounds that are necessary components for life — exposed in patches on the surface of […]
Posted inCeres, Press Release
The Origin of Organic Compounds on Ceres
Since NASA’s Dawn spacecraft detected localized organic-rich material on Ceres, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has been digging into the data to explore different scenarios for its origin. After considering the […]
Posted inCeres, Press Release
Dawn Discovers Evidence for Organic Material on Ceres
NASA’s Dawn mission has found evidence for organic material on Ceres, a dwarf planet and the largest body in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists using the […]
Posted inCeres, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release
Dawn Team Shares New Maps and Insights about Ceres
Mysteries and insights about Ceres are being discussed this week at the European Planetary Science Conference in Nantes, France.
Posted inIcy Worlds
Water Vapor Discovered At Ceres
ESA’s Herschel space observatory has discovered water vapour around Ceres, the first unambiguous detection of water vapour around an object in the asteroid belt. With a diameter of 950 km, […]
Posted inIcy Worlds
Multi-Layer Hydrostatic Equilibrium of Planets and Synchronous Moons: Ceres and to Solar System Moons
The hydrostatic equilibrium of multi-layer bodies lacks a satisfactory theoretical treatment despite its wide range of applicability. Here we show that by using the exact analytical potential of homogeneous ellipsoids […]
Posted inIcy Worlds
Potential for Life on Dwarf Planet Ceres
Ceres, which orbits the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is a unique body in the Solar System, bearing many similarities to Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s […]