NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has returned a new image of Ceres – the largest object in the main asteroid belt, taken from a distance of about 383,000 km.
This processed image shows the dwarf planet Ceres as seen from the Dawn; the image hints at craters on the surface of Ceres; the spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the dwarf planet on March 6. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA.
The dwarf planet Ceres was discovered on January 1, 1801 by Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi.
It has an average diameter of 950 km, and is thought to contain a large amount of ice. Some planetary scientists think it’s possible that the surface conceals an ocean.
On March 6, 2015, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft will arrive at the planet, marking the first time that a spacecraft has ever orbited two Solar System targets.
The space probe previously explored the protoplanet Vesta for more than a year, from 2011 to 2012, capturing detailed images and insights about the second most massive body in the asteroid belt.
Dawn has entered its approach phase toward Ceres, and the next couple of months promise continually improving views prior to arrival.
“We know so much about our Solar System and yet so little about dwarf planet Ceres,” said Dawn’s chief engineer Dr Marc Rayman of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
“Now, Dawn is ready to change that.”
The best images of Ceres so far were taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2003 and 2004.
This most recent image from Dawn, taken January 13, 2015, at about 80 percent of Hubble resolution, is not quite as sharp.
“Already, the latest images hint at first surface structures such as craters,” said Dr Andreas of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Gottingen, Germany.
“The team is very excited to examine the surface of Ceres in never-before-seen detail. We look forward to the surprises this mysterious world may bring,” said Dr Chris Russell of the University of California, Los Angeles.
By the end of January, the spacecraft’s images and other data will be the best ever taken of the dwarf planet.
