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[gutshot]

What is Ceres?

Ceres is a dwarf planet that is also the largest asteroid in our Solar System's asteroid belt. It was discovered in 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi. Originally thought to be a "missing planet" that was proposed to exist between Mars and Jupiter, it wasn't until discoveries of neighboring bodies that the name "asteroid" was adopted and Ceres officially became the first asteroid to be discovered. In 2006, while Pluto was "demoted" to dwarf planet, Ceres got "promoted".

How big is Ceres?

It's huge.... for an asteroid. It comprises a third of the mass of the entire asteroid belt. However, that is still only about 4% the mass of the Moon. The mass is sufficient enough to give it a spherical shape though. The surface area is approximately equal to a third the land area of the US.

What is Ceres composed of?

This is where things get interesting. Ceres consists of a rocky core with an icy mantle. This mantle is estimated to contain 200 million cubic kilometers of water, which is more than the amount of fresh water on Earth. That's a lot of water. Last year, astronomers discovered plumes of water vapors shooting off of the dwarf planet. They don't know what exactly is causing this, but it could be cryovolcanic eruptions. Yes, cryovolcanos exist and they are as awesome as they sound.

This place sounds fascinating. Are there plans to explore it?

Yes! The Dawn space probe is expected to enter orbit of Ceres on March 6th, where it will spend several months orbiting the dwarf planet, mapping its terrain and analyzing its gravity and surface composition. It should tell us a lot about the early Solar System and how planets are formed. This will be the first dwarf planet ever explored by humans.

A week ago, Dawn snapped a few of the highest-resolution photos ever taken of Ceres. They revealed a "white dot", an intriguing surface element that scientists are keen to learn more about. Here is a gif of those images:

Is there a chance of extraterrestrial life on Ceres?

Maybe. As mentioned, there is a LOT of water on Ceres. It's probably all ice, but it is hypothesized that there may be oceans existing under all of that ice. And where there is liquid water, there is the possibility of life. There is also a theory that Ceres may have been an originator of water and/or life on Earth. Due to its low gravity, it's much easier for debris from impacts to escape its orbit and land on Earth.

Either way, this little dwarf planet has a lot of mysteries just waiting to be uncovered. I can't wait to learn more about it.

 

[Lach]

Damn Belters....

 

[Paches]

Thanks for the post, love hearing about space exploration.

 

[ReAxion]

wanna know bout that dot

 

[gutshot]

wanna know bout that dot

 

[foxtrot3d]

Damn Belters....

Earth and Mars 4 Life.

 

[Messofanego]

Guiseppe Piazzi

Possibly the most Italian name I've ever seen.

 

[Platy]

As a person of the select group of "we didn't lost Pluto, we won Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris" (we need more planets named after goddesses) I welcome our Dwarf Planet overlords

 

[JMDSO]

I'm going to ask a question that is probably a little more ignorant that it's meant to be:

Why don't we have clearer/sharper images from space? Is it just because of the fact that these missions are/were launched when the technology isn't available yet?

 

[Randolph Freelander]

That's no moon.

 

[Gray Matter]

Guiseppe Piazzi

Possibly the most Italian name I've ever seen.

I have a friend name Giussepe, still find that name a bit funny.

 

[cdyhybrid]

Trial run for exploring Europa?

 

[Slayer-33]

Wtf is a cryovolcanic eruption? lol

 

[gutshot]

I'm going to ask a question that is probably a little more ignorant that it's meant to be:

Why don't we have clearer/sharper images from space? Is it just because of the fact that these missions are/were launched when the technology isn't available yet?

In the case of Ceres, it is so small that we haven't been able to get a clear image of it yet with our telescopes. This is the first probe we are sending there, so once it arrives we should get some really clear images.

We don't have any sharp images of Pluto either for much the same reason (although it is bigger than Ceres, it is also really, really far away). New Horizons is set to arrive at Pluto in July and we should get some good images of it then. We are lucky to be able to get the first clear images of these two dwarf planets within the span of only a few months.

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

Trial run for exploring Europa?

We're not allowed on Europa.

 

[dankir]

Wtf is a cryovolcanic eruption? lol

Ice Volcano?

 

[DedValve]

Wtf is a cryovolcanic eruption? lol

A dungeon in the new Legend of Zelda.

 

[Sickboy007]

Guiseppe Piazzi

Possibly the most Italian name I've ever seen.

I have a friend name Giussepe, still find that name a bit funny.

What's funny is that both of you managed to misspell it, and in two different ways!

 

[terrisus]

 

[Anoregon]

I know someone with a cat named Ceres.

 

[terrisus]

Trial run for exploring Europa?

We're not allowed on Europa.

fuk da rulz

 

[Mr Swine]

I'm impressed that this could have more water than earth has! But why is it called a dwarf planet when it's really that small?

 

[kamorra]

Guiseppe Piazzi

Possibly the most Italian name I've ever seen.

What a weird thing to say.

 

[terrisus]

What a weird thing to say.

Gotta make note of those things that are different
We should just call him "George."

 

[_DrMario_]

I'm impressed that this could have more water than earth has! But why is it called a dwarf planet when it's really that small?

Fresh water.

 

[kamorra]

Gotta make note of those things that are different
We should just call him "George."

Joseph

 

[terrisus]

Joseph

But definitely not Josef or Josep or something, because then we get right back into that whole thing with other areas.
Gotta have a firm, "American-sounding" name, so as to not stand out when presenting news on space.

 

[Zarovitch]

This and Europa with all the water i hope we will find life somewhere in my life.

 

[terrisus]

This and Europa with all the water i hope we will find life somewhere in my life.

>.>

 

[kamorra]

But definitely not Josef or Josep or something, because then we get right back into that whole thing with other areas.
Gotta have a firm, "American-sounding" name, so as to not stand out when presenting news on space.

Let's go with Joe. Yeehaw!

 

[XiaNaphryz]

For all the bitching people give about Pluto no longer being classified as a planet, Ceres was also considered a planet for 50 years before they reclassified it as just an asteroid.

 

[Zarovitch]

>.>

I feel dead

 

[Random Painted HIghway]

Let's crash this asteroid into Mars and give it a short lived ocean.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Let's crash this asteroid into Mars and give it a short lived ocean.

An ocean of lava!

 

[terrisus]

Let's go with Joe. Yeehaw!

Now you're thinking "The American Way™"

Spoiler

No offense meant to anyone named Joe or any of the variants thereof, of course

I feel dead

Plus, there's the whole issue with whether or not the life is actually "intelligent" >.>
:þ

 

[Axiology]

But definitely not Josef or Josep or something, because then we get right back into that whole thing with other areas.
Gotta have a firm, "American-sounding" name, so as to not stand out when presenting news on space.

 

[gutshot]

I'm impressed that this could have more water than earth has! But why is it called a dwarf planet when it's really that small?

Dwarf planets have to be massive enough to have become rounded by their own gravity, but not so massive that they have cleared the neighborhood around their orbit. Ceres fits those criteria, thus it is considered a dwarf planet. Most asteroids are not round and are therefore considered "Small Solar System Bodies".

 

[junglist]

I met Ceres several times when I was living in Italy.

 

[Gray Matter]

What's funny is that both of you managed to misspell it, and in two different ways!

Well, that's the way my friend spells his name so it's the only way I know to spell it.

 

[G.ZZZ]

I have a friend name Giussepe, still find that name a bit funny.

Guiseppe Piazzi

Possibly the most Italian name I've ever seen.

This ain't funny guys! Also none of you got it right, it's Giuseppe lol

 

[G.ZZZ]

Wtf is a cryovolcanic eruption? lol

It's a Volcano that erupt water. When normal temperatures are about -200°C on a planet surface, liquid water is unreasonably hot and form an actual mantle like lava does on earth.

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

It's a Volcano that erupt water. When normal temperatures are about -200°C on a planet surface, liquid water is unreasonably hot and form an actual mantle like lava does on earth.

wow, the more you know.gif

 

[Nokterian]

Wow just wow...i am blown away by this the magnitude what we find in space is unbelievable.

 

[KimiNewt]

Closer images have gone up, showing multiple white spots.

In-depth analysis of the new photos (though there isn't much to gleam from it): http://www.universetoday.com/118795/an-even-closer-view-of-ceres-shows-multiple-white-spots-now/

Note that Dawn is now about 145,000 km from Ceres, which is less than half the distance from the Earth to the Moon!
Only one month left until Dawn reaches Ceres' orbit, and the mysteries of the white spots and many more will be answered.

 

[Slayer-33]

Can't wait

 

[NetMapel]

Is this mission the same as Rosetta where the probe thing was out in space for like, 10+ years traveling a crazily calculated path ? Those always impress me

 

[KimiNewt]

Is this mission the same as Rosetta where the probe thing was out in space for like, 10+ years traveling a crazily calculated path ? Those always impress me

It's much more crazy, in fact.
Rosetta's path was actually fairly standard as far as interplanetary probes go (gotta love being able to utter that sentence!). It used standard chemical propulsion.
Dawn, however, uses ion propulsion-- which means that rather than perform short powerful burns, it continually uses its very low-thrust propulsion over a very long time (so calculating the path is much more difficult)

(Image is slightly outdated because plans were slightly changed due to some hardware failures a while ago, as you can see by the incorrect arrival date)

Dawn is also the first spacecraft to ever orbit another body (not Earth) and then leave it again and orbit another body (unless something goes horribly wrong soon, which I doubt it will)!

EDIT: Okay, looking back at Rosetta, the amount of gravity assists and encounters (even if it couldn't stop to orbit like our wonderful Dawn) is insane.

Can we just agree that they're equally crazy for different reasons?

 

[Atenhaus]

Damn Belters....

What, not a fan of the OPA?

 

[SneakyStephan]

It's much more crazy, in fact.
Rosetta's path was actually fairly standard as far as interplanetary probes go (gotta love being able to utter that sentence!). It used standard chemical propulsion.
Dawn, however, uses ion propulsion-- which means that rather than perform short powerful burns, it continually uses its very low-thrust propulsion over a very long time (so calculating the path is much more difficult)

(Image is slightly outdated because plans were slightly changed due to some hardware failures a while ago, as you can see by the incorrect arrival date)

Dawn is also the first spacecraft to ever orbit another body (not Earth) and then leave it again and orbit another body (unless something goes horribly wrong soon, which I doubt it will)!

The bolded is so cool

 

[Log4Girlz]

Closer images have gone up, showing multiple white spots.

In-depth analysis of the new photos (though there isn't much to gleam from it): http://www.universetoday.com/118795/an-even-closer-view-of-ceres-shows-multiple-white-spots-now/

Note that Dawn is now about 145,000 km from Ceres, which is less than half the distance from the Earth to the Moon!
Only one month left until Dawn reaches Ceres' orbit, and the mysteries of the white spots and many more will be answered.

Dafuq we got to the moon in 3 days, what's taking so long to cover half the distance? lol