Dawn Arrives at Ceres: Coverage

Dr. Nathues' is not the only interpretation of the data available to NASA. Dr. Carol Raymond, the Deputy Principal Investigator for the Dawn mission has said that no elevated feature, plume or mound was apparent at the site of the bright spot. She called exposed surface ice a more likely explanation.

That's correct. Dr. Nathues could be wrong. However, the problem with it being just a surface feature is that it appears to show up in images in which the floor of the crater is in shadow. If that image is being interpreted correctly, then that seems to suggest that the spot is elevated -- either a mound of solid material, or a plume of finer material being emitted somehow.

You seem to be suggesting that he is necessarily wrong, and that there is no way it could be a plume. There are several Ceres researchers who have very valid open-minded theories as to potential mechanisms that could be heating the interior of Ceres and driving the geology in order to provide enough heat and pressure for cryovolcanism or geysers -- or other scientists who believe that sublimating materials could exist at the lower latitudes of the bright spot.

Sure -- they could be wrong, but there is not enough evidence to tell us that such a heating mechanism inside Ceres does NOT exist to be able to just dismiss their ideas, either. It may end up being the that there is not enough heating due to radioactive decay within Ceres to drive cryovolcanism, and we will find that they are in fact wrong.

However, until they find out either way, I'll keep my mind open to that and many of the other possibilities that are still potentially valid. Dawn hasn't even begun it's primary science mission yet. It's a bit early to being saying "X" and "Y" are not possible. Let's wait for the data before we start saying that.