Dwarf Planet, Bright Spot
Explanation:
Now at Ceres, Dawn's camera recorded this
closer view of the dwarf planet's northern hemisphere
and one of its mysterious bright spots on May 4.
A sunlit portrait of a
small,
dark world about 950 kilometers in diameter, the image is part of
a planned
sequence taken
from the solar-powered spacecraft's 15-day long RC3 mapping orbit
at a distance of 13,600 kilometers (8,400 miles).
The
animated sequence shows Ceres' rotation,
its north pole at the top of the frame.
Imaged by Hubble in 2004
and then by Dawn as it approached Ceres in 2015,
the bright spot itself is revealed
to be made up of smaller spots of reflective material
that could be exposed ice glinting in the sunlight.
On Saturday, Dawn's ion propulsion system was turned on to
spiral the spacecraft into a closer 4,350-kilometer orbit by June 6.
Of course another
unexplored
dwarf planet, Pluto, is expecting
the arrival of a visitor from Earth, the
New Horizons
spacecraft, by mid-July.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
