A series of new photos taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft of the dwarf planet Ceres on Jan. 13 reveals a strange and flickering white blotch on the extraterrestrial world that has baffled scientists.
Dawn, which was launched in 2007 to study the two largest objects in the asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres, has captured photos revealing a white spot on Ceres as the space probe rapidly approached the dwarf planet.
Scientists involved with the Dawn mission, however, did not indicate what this mysterious dot is when Dawn's new photos of Ceres were released on Jan. 19. Dawn mission director Marc Rayman acknowledged that there is something on the dwarf planet that reflects more light but said that what this is still remains a mystery.
Dawn has captured images that show light and dark areas on the face of the planet indicating surface features such as craters but none of the specific features including the mysterious white dot can yet be resolved.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken images of Ceres in 2003 and 2004, and the white spot also showed up in these images. While scientists are not yet certain what this is, the best hypothesis they currently have is that the distinct blotch is a frozen pool of water at a crater's bottom that was clear enough to reflect sunlight.
Scientists are interested in studying Ceres because it is a unique and special object in the solar system. Having an average diameter of 590 miles, or about the size of Texas, it is the largest body in the main asteroid belt.
Ceres is likewise simultaneously classified as an asteroid and a dwarf planet. As a dwarf planet, Ceres is the smallest in our solar system. Researchers believe that this extraterrestrial world has large amounts of ice and that there is a possibility that its surface hides an ocean.
The Dawn spacecraft is anticipated to unveil more of the mysteries of this dwarf planet as it is set to enter Ceres' orbit by March later this year. The $466 million spacecraft has earlier made a year-long pit stop at Vesta in the summer of 2011. Vesta is the second largest object that exists in the asteroid belt.
"The team is very excited to examine the surface of Ceres in never-before-seen detail," said Dawn mission principal investigator Chris Russell. "We look forward to the surprises this mysterious world may bring."
