bright spots on Ceres
Discussion
Not sure if this will post, but NASA have just released a little animation of Ceres showing the bright spots still shining
edit - it will post but it's huge so I'll just leave the link!
http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn/ceres-animation-showc...
There appear to be quite a few bright areas around craters, so presumably there's something shiny just under a layer of dust that's getting exposed when it gets hit.
edit - it will post but it's huge so I'll just leave the link!
http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn/ceres-animation-showc...
There appear to be quite a few bright areas around craters, so presumably there's something shiny just under a layer of dust that's getting exposed when it gets hit.
Einion Yrth said:
MartG said:
ash73 said:
Or something precious, like diamond.
If it was a huge diamond then every diamond would be instantly devalued - they are only precious because they are rare 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11_Harrowhouse
MartG said:
Einion Yrth said:
MartG said:
ash73 said:
Or something precious, like diamond.
If it was a huge diamond then every diamond would be instantly devalued - they are only precious because they are rare http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11_Harrowhouse
let's hope Pluto is more interesting.Well - so far no asteroids visited by spacecraft have exhibited any of the attributes you seem to have been wishing for. I don't see why Ceres would have been significantly different. As it is, it DOES exhibit at least one phenomenon that marks it out from other asteroids.
The exploration of the solar system is not about wish fulfillment. It's about finding out the truth.
The exploration of the solar system is not about wish fulfillment. It's about finding out the truth.
MartG said:
ash73 said:
Or something precious, like diamond.
If it was a huge diamond then every diamond would be instantly devalued - they are only precious because they are rare Imagine if it was some rare metal that was would push our technology forward, some metal that they cant get hold of easily on earth but has some really good use.
peterperkins said:
Perhaps something we sent up years ago on a mars fly by and crashed on Ceres?
Aluminium heat reflective panels laid about from wreckage?
very central to the crater though, and the second photo showing it nearly side on is puzzling.
Scale of Ceres 950km diameter and the light areas?
Pillars of salt, volcanic minerals is possible I suppose.
Hoping for an Alien artifact but of course trillions to one against.
"The first images, from ten thousand kilometres away,
brought to a halt the activities of all mankind. On a billion
television screens, there appeared a tiny, featureless
cylinder, growing rapidly second by second. By the time
it had doubled its size, no one could pretend any longer
that Rama was a natural object.
Its body was a cylinder so geometrically perfect that it
might have been turned on a lathe - one with centres
fifty kilometres apart. The two ends were quite flat, apart
from some small structures at the centre of one face, and
were twenty kilometres across; from a distance, when
there was no sense of scale, Rama looked almost comic-
ally like an ordinary domestic boiler.
Rama grew until it filled the screen. Its surface was a
dull, drab grey, as colourless as the Moon, and completely
devoid of markings except at one point. Halfway along
the cylinder there was a kilometre-wide stain or smear, as
if something had once hit and splattered, ages ago.
There was no sign that the impact had done the slight-
est damage to Rama's spinning walls; but this mark had
produced the slight fluctuation in brightness that had led
to Stenton's discovery.
The images from the other cameras added nothing
new. However, the trajectories their pods traced .through
Rama's minute gravitational field gave one other vital
piece of information - the mass of the cylinder.
It was far too light to be a solid body. To nobody's
great surprise, it was clear that Rama must be hollow.
The long-hoped-for, long-feared encounter had come at
last. Mankind was about to receive its first visitor from the
stars."
Arthur C Clarke Rendezvous With Rama
Where are the other two then?Aluminium heat reflective panels laid about from wreckage?
very central to the crater though, and the second photo showing it nearly side on is puzzling.
Scale of Ceres 950km diameter and the light areas?
Pillars of salt, volcanic minerals is possible I suppose.
Hoping for an Alien artifact but of course trillions to one against.
"The first images, from ten thousand kilometres away,
brought to a halt the activities of all mankind. On a billion
television screens, there appeared a tiny, featureless
cylinder, growing rapidly second by second. By the time
it had doubled its size, no one could pretend any longer
that Rama was a natural object.
Its body was a cylinder so geometrically perfect that it
might have been turned on a lathe - one with centres
fifty kilometres apart. The two ends were quite flat, apart
from some small structures at the centre of one face, and
were twenty kilometres across; from a distance, when
there was no sense of scale, Rama looked almost comic-
ally like an ordinary domestic boiler.
Rama grew until it filled the screen. Its surface was a
dull, drab grey, as colourless as the Moon, and completely
devoid of markings except at one point. Halfway along
the cylinder there was a kilometre-wide stain or smear, as
if something had once hit and splattered, ages ago.
There was no sign that the impact had done the slight-
est damage to Rama's spinning walls; but this mark had
produced the slight fluctuation in brightness that had led
to Stenton's discovery.
The images from the other cameras added nothing
new. However, the trajectories their pods traced .through
Rama's minute gravitational field gave one other vital
piece of information - the mass of the cylinder.
It was far too light to be a solid body. To nobody's
great surprise, it was clear that Rama must be hollow.
The long-hoped-for, long-feared encounter had come at
last. Mankind was about to receive its first visitor from the
stars."
Arthur C Clarke Rendezvous With Rama
This picture was taken from a distance of 4,500 miles (7,200 kilometers) and has a resolution of 2,250 feet (700 meters) per pixel. Making the large central spot about 7km wide, and conspicuously central to the crater. So either what ever caused the crater is very shiny or what ever caused the crater has unearthed something very shiny.
I'm really intrigued by this. It's a genuinely interesting event and is quite a mystery at the moment.
What we need is a big road sweeper. It'll remove all of the dust from the planet and we'll be left with a gleaming crystal orb. We will then realise that it was placed there hundreds of thousands of years ago by a sentient race who treat us like we treat our pets.
Or it could be Apple's new iPlanet. (If it's glossy, it will be).
What we need is a big road sweeper. It'll remove all of the dust from the planet and we'll be left with a gleaming crystal orb. We will then realise that it was placed there hundreds of thousands of years ago by a sentient race who treat us like we treat our pets.
Or it could be Apple's new iPlanet. (If it's glossy, it will be).
This animation will freak you out then. It shows bright spots coming into view but if you look the bright spots don't dim when they are in shadow, which they would do if they were reflecting light.
http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn/ceres-animation-showc...
http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn/ceres-animation-showc...
Galileo said:
This animation will freak you out then. It shows bright spots coming into view but if you look the bright spots don't dim when they are in shadow, which they would do if they were reflecting light.
http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn/ceres-animation-showc...
When the old race vacated the planet, they left the lights on. http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn/ceres-animation-showc...
Galileo said:
This animation will freak you out then. It shows bright spots coming into view but if you look the bright spots don't dim when they are in shadow, which they would do if they were reflecting light.
http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn/ceres-animation-showc...
The animation isn't conclusive as the bright spot moves out of shot at the edge of rotation and shadow, although it hints at it. Given that Dawn has been orbiting for some weeks now, wouldn't it at least had a nosey at the bright spot from the 'dark side' to confirm if the lights are on, or if it is a reflection? Also has there been any estimation of the scale/size of the bright spot?http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn/ceres-animation-showc...
Edit: Just noticed from Galileo previous that it's estimated at 7kms.
Edited by warp9 on Wednesday 27th May 17:22
Maybe they plan too in the future anyway and are just waiting for the rest of the mission to pan out. Turning a craft like that around is not the easisest thing to do. The propulsion system puts about as much push into the craft as the wieght of a piece of paper in your hand, so to accelerate and stop again would take months if not longer.
Galileo said:
This animation will freak you out then. It shows bright spots coming into view but if you look the bright spots don't dim when they are in shadow, which they would do if they were reflecting light.
http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn/ceres-animation-showc...
Don't forget that their brightness is accentuated by the extremely long exposures used to take the pics - it's dark out there http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn/ceres-animation-showc...
New pic from a lower orbit - still no idea what they are
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/images/largesi...
( big pic - click on link )
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/images/largesi...
( big pic - click on link )
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