NASA hasreleasednew simulacrum of the nanus planet Ceres , created using information from the Dawn spacecraft . They reveal the wide-ranging topography of this intriguing world – while the bureau has also sought helper from the public to see some of its more mysterious features .
The images apply pretended colors to foreground dissimilar piece on the surface . Red evidence arena that strongly mull infrared light , low typify shorter ( bluer ) wavelengths , and green surface area are the bright ( gamy albedo ) parts of the surface . Without this false - color view , Ceres face fairly homogenously grey to the naked eye .
Using this technique , one picture shows the fascinating Occator crater , home to the brightest of Ceres’bright spots . The origin of these features persist a mystery , with ice or salt flats among the favored theories at the instant . Another image shows a puzzling cone - shaped mountain loom 6 kilometers ( 4 miles ) above the surface , but how it came to be is unknown .
This map shows the entire airfoil of Ceres in false color . NASA / JPL - Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA .
To well translate Ceres , NASA has receive help from the public . One amateur partisan , for example , sent Dawn ’s principle investigator Christopher Russell , from the University of California , Los Angeles an email say the mountain look similar to meth structures seen in woods in Arkansas .
" perhaps our lonely mountain was some sort of ice concept , " enjoin Russel at the European Planetary Science Congress in Nantes , France , reportedAFP . " We ’re take suggestion like this very seriously . "
The volcanic crater themselves on Ceres are interesting as they are not bowl - shaped , like on Dawn ’s premature target , Vesta . rather they are on an irregular basis shaped , more consanguineal to Saturn ’s icy moonRhea . An instrument on Dawn also catch an “ unexpected observation , ” accord to Russell – three bursts of energetic electrons , possibly from the fundamental interaction of Ceres and the Sun .
The origin of this conical mountain on Ceres remains a mystery . NASA / JPL - Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / PSI .
Dawn is continuing to lour its arena around Ceres – it is currently at an height of 1,470 kilometer ( 915 miles ) , but will descend to its lowest and final orbit in December , just 375 kilometer ( 230 miles ) above the surface .
" Ceres continues to amaze , yet flummox us , as we canvas our pack of persona , spectra and now energetic particle explosion , " said Russell in astatement .
