NASA's Dawn spacecraft provides 'best-ever view' of dwarf planet Ceres

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has returned what it's calling the "best-ever view" of Ceres, a dwarf planet. Ceres is the largest body between Mars and Jupiter, and it may have liquid water beneath its mantle.

The images were taken on Jan. 25 from 147,000 miles away, and they represent "a new milestone for a spacecraft that soon will become the first human-made probe to visit a dwarf planet," according to NASA. On March 6, Dawn will begin orbiting Ceres and will measure variations in the light it reflects.

"We know so little about our vast solar system, but thanks to economical missions like Dawn, those mysteries are being solved," Jim Green, Planetary Science Division Director at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in a statement. NASA hopes Dawn's images will help scientists better understand how the solar system began.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up