NASA ’s Dawn space vehicle has taken itsclosest imagesyet of the dwarf major planet Ceres . Sadly , they do n’t uncover any more about the mysteriousbright spotson the surface – but they do show a arresting new opinion of a Pyramids of Egypt - like structure , see above .
The batch in the image tower about six kilometers ( four miles ) above the surface . Its slopes are brightly streaky while its circumference on the control surface has a sharp definition . Interestingly there is no rubble around the base of the mountain , and it also seems to stand alone , rather than being part of a slew range .
In the other paradigm , the spacecraft revealed a mess ridge on Ceres , and also a large volcanic crater name for the Germanic goddess Gaue . Dawn has also been using its visible and infrared mapping mass spectrometer to pucker data on the mineral that can be find on the surface of Ceres .
The mountain range is seen at the low-pitched left of this double . NASA / JPL - Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA .
Dawn , which come in compass around Ceres in March this year after visiting the protoplanet Vesta in 2011 and 2012 , is presently orbit 1,470 kilometers ( 915 miles ) above the surface . Over the next few months , it will get closer and closer , reaching its lowest elevation – 375 kilometers ( 230 mil ) – in October . At this tallness , we can expect even more arresting images .
In its current reach , it takes Dawn 11 days to capture image of the whole surface of Ceres over the course of 14 orbits . In the next two months , the integral surface will be mapped six clip . Images at this height have a resolution of 140 meters ( 460 feet ) per pixel , and each covers less than one per centum of the surface .
" Dawn is perform cleanly in this new orbit as it comport its ambitious exploration , " said Marc Rayman , Dawn ’s main engineer and missionary work director , based at NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory , Pasadena , California , in astatement . " The ballistic capsule ’s view is now three multiplication as sharp as in its previous single-valued function orbit , revealing exciting raw details of this challenging dwarf planet . "
But while these images are all well and salutary , let ’s be true : we all desire to eff what caused themysterious bright spotson the surface . Are they induce by chalk , salt flats , or something else ? We ’ll have to wait to find out .
Image in text edition : Gaue volcanic crater is the declamatory volcanic crater at the bottom . NASA / JPL - Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA .
