Strange lights on dwarf planet Ceres have scientists perplexed

[zorgon]

So why does that area that is more YELLOW look like someone pasted a Pizza Slice over something?

[ArMaP]

It wasn't me, I don't even like pizza.

[RUSSO]

Fly Over Dwarf Planet Ceres


NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw

A new video animation of dwarf planet Ceres, based on images taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, provides dramatic flyover views of this heavily cratered, mysterious world. The images come from Dawn's first mapping orbit at Ceres, at an altitude of 8,400 mile (13,600 kilometers), as well as navigational images taken from 3,200 miles (5,100 kilometers) away. The images provided information for a three-dimensional terrain model. The vertical dimension has been exaggerated by a factor of two, and a star field has been added in the background.

Source:http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1380

[RUSSO]

Bright Spots in Ceres' Second Mapping Orbit JUNE 10, 2015 :

The brightest spots on dwarf planet Ceres are seen in this image taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on June 6, 2015. This is among the first snapshots from Dawn's second mapping orbit, which is 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers) in altitude. The resolution is 1,400 feet (410 meters) per pixel.

Scientists are still puzzled by the nature of these spots, and are considering explanations that include salt and ice.

Source:http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-detail.html?id=PIA19568



Also some interesting comments taken from this forum:(http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=71edfee2931f9342540f38185f4630a9&showtopic=7981&st=420)

Comment from Jaro_in_Montreal
post Today, 01:58 PM

With the image darkened a little, it looks as though some internal structure begins to appear in the white spots.....

Comment from alk3997
post Today, 03:18 PM

Lots of compression artifacts when zoomed in. Below is a 4x view of white spot 5 with very little processing from the original.

The dark streak to the east and attached to the main bright area, heading southeast, is interesting. I don't think that is a processing artifact.

I have to agree that almost none of the bright area is resolved even in this view. However, it almost looks to me that the main bright area is a mound covered by bright material. But that is certainly more imagination than analysis.

Source:http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=71edfee2931f9342540f38185f4630a9&showtopic=7981&st=420

[zorgon]

UPDATED

http://umlr.net/03files/Ceres_Lights.html

[RUSSO]

Update:

Ceres Spots Continue to Mystify in Latest Dawn Images

The closer we get to Ceres, the more intriguing the distant dwarf planet becomes. New images of Ceres from NASA's Dawn spacecraft provide more clues about its mysterious bright spots, and also reveal a pyramid-shaped peak towering over a relatively flat landscape.

"The surface of Ceres has revealed many interesting and unique features. For example, icy moons in the outer solar system have craters with central pits, but on Ceres central pits in large craters are much more common. These and other features will allow us to understand the inner structure of Ceres that we cannot sense directly," said Carol Raymond, deputy principal investigator for the Dawn mission, based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Dawn has been studying the dwarf planet in detail from its second mapping orbit, which is 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers) above Ceres. A new view of its intriguing bright spots, located in a crater about 55 miles (90 kilometers) across, shows even more small spots in the crater than were previously visible.

At least eight spots can be seen next to the largest bright area, which scientists think is approximately 6 miles (9 kilometers) wide. A highly reflective material is responsible for these spots -- ice and salt are leading possibilities, but scientists are considering other options, too.

Dawn's visible and infrared mapping spectrometer allows scientists to identify specific minerals present on Ceres by looking at how light is reflected. Each mineral reflects the range of visible and infrared-light wavelengths in a unique way, and this signature helps scientists determine the components of Ceres. So, as the spacecraft continues to send back more images and data, scientists will learn more about the mystery bright spots.

In addition to the bright spots, the latest images also show a mountain with steep slopes protruding from a relatively smooth area of the dwarf planet's surface. The structure rises about 3 miles (5 kilometers) above the surface.

Ceres also has numerous craters of varying sizes, many of which have central peaks. There is ample evidence of past activity on the surface, including flows, landslides and collapsed structures. It seems that Ceres shows more remnants of activity than the protoplanet Vesta, which Dawn studied intensively for 14 months in 2011 and 2012.

Dawn is the first mission to visit a dwarf planet, and the first to orbit two distinct targets in our solar system. It arrived at Ceres, the largest object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, on March 6, 2015.

Dawn will remain in its current altitude until June 30, continuing to take images and spectra of Ceres in orbits of about three days each. It then will move into its next orbit at an altitude of 900 miles (1,450 kilometers), arriving in early August.

Full read/Source:http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news-detail.html?id=4633

[zorgon]

This spot looks more like an outpost of ant we have found so far

[RUSSO]

This spot looks more like an outpost of ant we have found so far

Well... almost two weeks waiting for better pictures and that is their update

[zorgon]

Okay addition made Bottom of page

http://umlr.net/03files/Ceres_Lights.html

here is the full image



From HERE

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19579

Here are the closeups from the TIFF full version...

[zorgon]

Those are LIGHTS   Look at the closeup... The crater is dark and the light radiates out from the center points. Also notice the small spheres arranged around the main lights. Those are NOT pixel artifacts... those spheres

[zorgon]

The rectangular 'structure' are pixel artifact  but not the spheres IMO

[ArMaP]

Those are LIGHTS

Then those are very faint lights, as Ceres is very dark.

Look at the closeup... The crater is dark and the light radiates out from the center points. Also notice the small spheres arranged around the main lights. Those are NOT pixel artifacts... those spheres

Without enough resolution any small thing appears as one pixel or, if slightly bigger or brighter, four pixels, so when the image resized it will always look like a circle.

I will wait for better photos.

[zorgon]

so when the image resized it will always look like a circle.

Then how come only the spheres look like circles and the rest of the pixel artifacts at the same resolution are all rectangular?

[Sgt.Rocknroll]

As I said on Facebook, if you look real close, they look like mounds of phosphorus protruding the crust. But that's just me!

[micjer]

Now this is a stretch so don't bash my post....

But what if the moon (Ceres) is hollow?  And the crater impact has damaged the outer crust.  (Thin layer)  Now what we are seeing is an inner sun that is peaking out the hole.

Like a candle in a pumkin at halloween.