On Monday, NASA gave us our first close look at the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the Asteroid Belt between Jupiter and Mars. The detailed animated flyover was compiled from 80 images taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft; some of the photos were snapped 8,400 miles above Ceres' surface and the rest from 3,200 feet. Dawn began its second mapping orbit around Ceres on June 3.
"The Dawn team is investigating what the landforms imply about the presence and nature of any water reservoirs in Ceres," UCLA's Christopher Russell, chief investigator for the Dawn mission, tells National Geographic. "I can't take my eyes off those bright spots. They really make Ceres special and add to the mystery at this point rather than settle any debate." The leading theory about the twin bright spots is that they are reflective ice pools mirroring the sun. You can watch the 3-D animated journey over Ceres below, narrated by Reuters. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why Turkey's Kurdish insurgents are laying down their armsUnder the Radar The PKK said its aims can now be 'resolved through democratic politics'
-
Book reviews: 'Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves' and 'Notes to John'Feature The aughts' toxic pop culture and Joan Didion's most private pages
-
The FDA plans to embrace AI agencywideIn the Spotlight Rumors are swirling about a bespoke AI chatbot being developed for the FDA by OpenAI
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beatspeed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammalsSpeed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its preySpeed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant worldSpeed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
-
Katy Perry, Gayle King visit space on Bezos rocketSpeed Read Six well-known women went into lower orbit for 11 minutes
-
Scientists map miles of wiring in mouse brainSpeed Read Researchers have created the 'largest and most detailed wiring diagram of a mammalian brain to date,' said Nature
-
Scientists genetically revive extinct 'dire wolves'Speed Read A 'de-extinction' company has revived the species made popular by HBO's 'Game of Thrones'
-
Dark energy may not doom the universe, data suggestsSpeed Read The dark energy pushing the universe apart appears to be weakening
