New Close-up Images Of Ceres Spots Reveal: Eruption?

NASA has released the latest images from the Dawn orbiter around Ceres, which show the Occator Crater (the one with the bright patches) in the highest resolution yet.



Now we can clearly see that, at least in the center of the crater, this is material that has protruded through the outer surface. The cryo-volcano theory is looking more likely, probably, given the position of the rupture at the exact center of this impact crater, due to the impact that caused the crater in the first place. It will be interesting to see what exactly this material is composed of, as Dawn scientists will soon be analyzing spectroscopic data.

At a guess, I'd say the smaller bright patches dotting the rest of the crater are either ejecta from the the central rupture, or smaller "geysers" that were also caused by the impact and subsequent eruption of material from within.

Also, would like to point out two things.

First, from the article linked in the OP:

The bright spots are much brighter than the rest of Ceres' surface, and tend to appear overexposed in most images. This view is a composite of two images of Occator: one using a short exposure that captures the detail in the bright spots, and one where the background surface is captured at normal exposure.

So the contrast between the grayish material on the rest of the surface, and the white spots, is actually much higher than this. They had to layer the image so as not to overexpose.

Second: there's something very interesting about the very center of the central peak. The coloration looks to me like the white material is either in a depression, like a mini-crater, or is perhaps blowing out now, as in an ongoing eruption. What say you, ATS?

Starting to remind me of the Apollo booster impact images from the moon:

a reply to: AshOnMyTomatoes

Oh, damn, Ceres is a waste dump for extremely hot nuclear materials.
Now who would do that?

a reply to: eriktheawful

Makes you think that perhaps something has landed there in the past. Good observation!

Look more like a secondary meteor hit
and it not in a perfect middle

it's possible it's the left over material from the impact that formed the crater.

at least that's my theory.

a reply to: AshOnMyTomatoes



Thanks for the update!

Guys... who parked that stealth-fighter in the middle of the no-parking zone next to spot 5 on the left hand?
Or is it just the entrance to the local dungeon?

To me it looks like some sort of ice volcano and the other white spots are cracks with ice or frosty stuff seeping through them...
at least that's what I see when I look at it.

Cool whatever it is though!

originally posted by: AshOnMyTomatoes
NASA has released the latest images from the Dawn orbiter around Ceres, which show the Occator Crater (the one with the bright patches) in the highest resolution yet.

Now we can clearly see that, at least in the center of the crater, this is material that has protruded through the outer surface. The cryo-volcano theory is looking more likely, probably, given the position of the rupture at the exact center of this impact crater, due to the impact that caused the crater in the first place. It will be interesting to see what exactly this material is composed of, as Dawn scientists will soon be analyzing spectroscopic data.

At a guess, I'd say the smaller bright patches dotting the rest of the crater are either ejecta from the the central rupture, or smaller "geysers" that were also caused by the impact and subsequent eruption of material from within.

Worth noting my guess in this March thread before we got close up imagery: NASA Dawn, What will it discover about Ceres?

originally posted by: JadeStar

originally posted by: Ross 54
At the NASA press conference on Monday, they seriously doubted that a cryovolcano was the cause of the bright spot. A mound that it would be expected to leave behind was missing, when they carefully looked for one. Even a crack, they said, out of which it might erupt was not found. Exposed ice seems to be the preferred explanation for the bright spot, at the moment.

If we have to rely on the thin, wispy sublimation of exposed ice, of the sort that has been observed on Ceres in the past, instead of an ice volcano, the question arrises-- how does such a phenomenon create a dense, highly reflective, and compact bright spot on Ceres, something that NASA's experts admit is unique in all the solar system?

Imagine for a moment that at the core of Ceres there are radioactive elements such as thorium, uranium, etc in a large concentrations. It might be possible that a deep liquid water layer could exist. Now imagine that an impact (which created the crater the bright spots are seen in) broke the crust of Ceres to the point that there is a fissure going down to that deep liquid water layer. Being that this liquid water is highly salty its freezing point would be lower.

Now imagine that over time it freezes on the surface inside this crater, and a little more is added in a steady, constant trickle. In Ceres's low gravity, over the course of millions of years a giant ice tower could be jutting up from the surface and catching the light above the rim of the crater.

That's my theory anyway.

So no ice towers yet but possibly the scenario I mentioned regarding their origin being related to the impact which formed the crater.

a reply to: AshOnMyTomatoes

Glad to see more detail.
Your theory is the same thing I've been thinking too.
Except I used the word "pooped"
AS in the smaller spots were pooped out by the central rupture...lol

Though now you can see that fracture zone in the area of the secondary spots...I like your theory on those as well..

One thing I would like everyone to remember is that in all the articles I've read on these spots.. scientists, including those at NASA are stunned at the brightness of these areas.

Do you remember how bright these things are in the old photos?

Brighter than any reflections we have seen of ice/water etc.

Whatever it must be. Its has to be something very uncommon to have so many stumped as to the shimmer.

Salts is still a popular "explanation." I put in quotes because, like pluto, not everything is necessarily straight forward.

My supernatural senses tell me it'll be a combination of things involving some salts. Add some music and magic and WHAM we have Spot 5.

Here's a nice forum where they "dig" it:
www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showforum=73

Has anyone noticed the formations in between the smaller (ultra) bright spots?


What do you see?

Zoom into the original pic, top left of the center bright spot looks lile there is an S

Determining the age of the surrounding crater will be paramount in my opinion. It does not appear that old, and there are small bits of white splatter all around the rim, if you look carefully. My suspicion is that this might be a cometary hit, and the little of what was left over and not completely annihilated, is a heap and debris in the central areas that is slowly ablating over time. Lots of study to be done on this, and one of the coolest anomalies we have seen from any of our explorations.

a reply to: AshOnMyTomatoes


I repeat the object that caused the crater and is peeking through the opaque 'dust' is composed of a very high concentration of a mineral ore or compound which has a very high concentration of the element Mercury (aka: quick silver) which would naturally reflect some 90% of the light striking it in it's fully exposed state

Amazing that there are still very few educated guess out there on what this is. Maybe it is Ice worm excrement =).

originally posted by: AshOnMyTomatoes
NASA has released the latest images from the Dawn orbiter around Ceres, which show the Occator Crater (the one with the bright patches) in the highest resolution yet.

Now we can clearly see that, at least in the center of the crater, this is material that has protruded through the outer surface. The cryo-volcano theory is looking more likely, probably, given the position of the rupture at the exact center of this impact crater, due to the impact that caused the crater in the first place. It will be interesting to see what exactly this material is composed of, as Dawn scientists will soon be analyzing spectroscopic data.

At a guess, I'd say the smaller bright patches dotting the rest of the crater are either ejecta from the the central rupture, or smaller "geysers" that were also caused by the impact and subsequent eruption of material from within.

It looks like the spots changed? Or is this a different location?





If it a natural process could something in it be active and make it glow or have some type of bioluminescence? What if it is neon?

New Close-up Images Of Ceres Spots Reveal: Eruption?

SO I'm to guess we aren't seeing an alien base self illuminated colony?

Boy that is going to disappoint some people.