Better view of Ceres released

[n2doc]

The Dawn spacecraft has snapped the most detailed photos to date of the dwarf planet Ceres. Craters and mysterious bright patches dot the landscape in a pair of images taken February 12 when Dawn was just 83,000 kilometers from Ceres, the largest body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Launched in 2007, Dawn spent 14 months investigating the asteroid Vesta before heading off to Ceres, which it will begin to orbit on March 6. Once there it will spend the rest of the year mapping the dwarf planet, hopefully finding clues about the formation of the solar system.

https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/dwarf-planet-ceres-comes-view?tgt=nr

[Stargazer09]

1. I'm ridiculously excited about Ceres

There's so much to learn! Looking forward to seeing what Dawn finds.

Oh, and New Horizons reaching Pluto this summer will be interesting, too. It's going to be an exciting year for planetary science.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Those white patches ? Cerium oxide. nt

[n2doc]

3. Please be Ceres n/t

[Wounded Bear]

4. Cerium bicarbonate?

[Thor_MN]

5. It's a giant Peeps. Colored Sugar coating wore off in a few spots...

Of course, when a Peeps gets that big, gravity pulls it out of the Chick shape into a sphere.

Wonder what would happen to a Peeps tossed from the ISS?

[byronius]

6. Someday someone's going to be living inside that rock.

According to Kim Stanley Robinson's '2312'. Wayyyyy too late for me, damn it.

I love Ceres. Can't wait.