Cerealia Facula
Explanation:
Cerealia Facula,
also known as the
brightest
spot on Ceres,
is shown in this stunning mosaic close-up view.
The
high-resolution image data was recorded by
the Dawn spacecraft, in a looping orbit,
from altitudes as low as 34 kilometers (21 miles) above the
dwarf
planet's surface.
Cerealia Facula is about 15 kilometers wide, found in the center of
90 kilometer diameter
Occator crater.
Like the other bright spots (faculae)
scattered around Ceres,
Cerealia Facula is not ice, but an exposed salty residue with
a reflectivity like dirty snow.
The residue is thought to be mostly sodium carbonate and ammonium chloride
from a slushy brine within or below the dwarf planet's crust.
Driven by advanced ion propulsion on an 11-year mission,
Dawn explored main-belt asteriod Vesta before traveling on to Ceres.
But sometime between this August and October, the interplanetary spacecraft
is expected to finally run out of fuel for its hydrazine thrusters,
with the subsequent loss of control of its orientation, losing
power and the ability to communicate with Earth.
Meanwhile Dawn will continue to explore Ceres in unprecedented detail,
and ultimately retire in its
orbit
around the small world.
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.
