The brightest spots on dwarf planet Ceres are seen in this image taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on June 6, 2015. This is among the first snapshots from Dawn's second mapping orbit, which is 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers) in altitude. The resolution is 1,400 feet (410 meters) per pixel. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
Don’t get me wrong. I love this new photo. Dawn snapped it from its second mapping orbit from 2,700 miles up on June 6. The number of craters and the detail visible in the parallel troughs snaking through the scene are breathtaking. That’s why I hate to niggle about the white spots.
While they appear larger and sharper than images taken in May from a greater distance, they’re too bright to show much new detail. I can’t help but wonder if mission scientists might adjust the exposure a bit the next time around.
When photographing bright objects here on Earth, we expose “for the highlights” or the bright areas in photos to avoid overexposure and loss of detail.
Naturally, when you try to capture details in something bright, your background will go dark. But that might be what’s needed here – a change in exposure to reveal more detail in the spots at the expense of the landscape. Doubtless NASA will release enlarged and detailed images of these enigmatic dots later this summer. Just call me impatient.
Scientists still don’t understand the nature of the spot cluster, but reflective ice or salt remain the strongest possibilities.
“The bright spots in this configuration make Ceres unique from anything we’ve seen before in the solar system,” said Chris Russell, principal investigator for the Dawn mission. “The science team is working to understand their source. Reflection from ice is the leading candidate in my mind, but the team continues to consider alternate possibilities, such as salt.”
It’s interesting to compare and contrast Ceres with Dawn’s first target asteroid, Vesta. Craters of every size dominate both small worlds, but Ceres shows evidence of a more activity in the form of relaxed crater rims (possibly due to ice deformation), landslides and collapsed structures.
Dawn takes about three days to orbit at its current 2,700 mile altitude. It will continue to take photos and make science observations until dropping into a new lower altitude of 900 miles (1, 450 km) in early August.
When massive stars reach the end of their life cycle, they undergo gravitational collapse and…
Planets are born in swirling disks of gas and dust around young stars. Astronomers are…
Sometimes, things across the vast Universe line up just right for us. The Einstein Ring…
Our Sun is a giant plasma windbag spewing a constant stream of charged particles called…
Humanity will eventually need somewhere to live on the Moon. While aesthetics might not be…
How can a geologic map of a lunar impact crater created billions of years ago…