NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Hints Bright Spots on Dwarf Planet Ceres Likely Made of Salt

In late 2015, images captured by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft showed bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres. While the planet has been a mystery to scientists for long, Dawn has shed more light on the bright spots, and the planet in general, during its orbit of the dwarf planet. Going by the images, scientists have reported that the bright spots are made up of hydrated magnesium sulfates, more popular as Epsom salt that is used in treating sore and inflamed joints.

The white spots have fascinated scientists since they were discovered, and for a passionate researcher like Experimentor_4u, continued discovery of Ceres’ features have kept him hungry for more information.  


 
Dawn’s mission

The Dawn Project was initiated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Discovery Program as a project to increase the understanding of the conditions of some of the solar systems intriguing bodies, specifically the protoplanet’s Vesta and Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft orbited Vesta in 2011-2012, and from there moved to the dwarf planet Ceres.

So far, the Dawn mission has accomplished many firsts. It is the only spacecraft to successfully orbit two bodies other than Earth, and the only spacecraft to orbit a body located in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. By relaying images in its orbit, Dawn is able to send useful information that scientists can study to learn more about the planet.

Scientists believe that during the early stages of the solar system, the buildup of bodies contributed to the growth of planets. The process is, however, believed to have been interfered with by Jupiter’s gravity, thus denying the development of a planet between it and Mars. The result is a large asteroid belt that is home to Vesta and Ceres, two of the largest asteroids in the belt. Both planets have survived the collisions that are common between asteroids, and possess chemical conditions that might help shed light on the early stages of the solar system.

At a high level, the Dawn mission seeks to find answers on the role of size and water in establishing the growth of planets. Vesta and Ceres are the right candidates to provide answers, as they are planets whose growth was interrupted by Jupiter. While Ceres is wet and primal, Vesta is dry and has advanced. Thus, Dawn has the possibility of providing discoveries that further advance scientists’ knowledge of the solar system.



Ceres’ Bright Spots

On images relayed by Dawn, Ceres has more than 100 bright spots, with a significant number thought to be the linked to impact craters. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany have studied these bright spots and found them to be consistent with magnesium sulfate, a variant of which is used as Epsom salt. The scientists have suggested that these bright spots are salt-rich areas that are a result of water redirection in the past, with asteroid impact likely to have brought the salt onto the surface.

Ceres has a dark surface, much similar to fresh asphalt. The bright spots are brought into focus as a result of sunlight, which also makes it possible to see the craters that dot the planet. One of the craters, called Occator, has been the center of study efforts to figure out the behavior of Ceres’ surface during particular times of the day.

In another study, the team of scientists behind studied the planet using special equipment to identify ammonia-rich soil. Because Ceres is a warm planet, ammonia by itself would evaporate. Scientists figure that the presence of ammonia could be a result of bonding with other minerals on planet’s surface. The presence of ammonia also leads to the possibility that Ceres might have originated outside the main asteroid belt, or that the planet is made up of materials that have coasted from other orbits.



Scientists’ ability to make accurate inferences is a result of Dawn’s instruments, which are a framing camera, a visible and infrared mapping spectrometer to a gamma ray and neutron detector. These instruments have kept the Dawn team busy, as the data collected has helped them understand the elements on Ceres’ surface, along with important details that may help address questions about the planet’s composition and evolution. Since Ceres is the last planet in Dawn’s space exploration itinerary, the spacecraft is expected to remain in the planet’s orbit until the conclusion of its mission in 2016.

Alien Megastructure or Comet Swarm?

This recent series of articles on the Experimentor_4u blog has discussed how Kepler is able to discover alien worlds, and whether it would be able to detect alien civilisations. Recently, a star by the name of KIC8462852 has given up some tantalising data which has set the scientific world abuzz. Has Kepler detected a new kind of “comet swarm”, with rock and ice debris moving around the distant star? Or has it found something much more earth shattering, a discovery which could change humanity's view of the cosmos, that an alien civilisation has finally been found?

Read on, and find out the secrets of KIC8462852 in our latest free PDF.

Can Kepler Discover Alien Civilisations?

Following on from Experimentor_4u’s recent post about Kepler and the puzzling star KIC8462852, let's take a more in depth look at Kepler and its search for life. Scientists have always wondered whether there were other planets out there in the cosmos, beyond the boundaries of our solar system – the Kepler satellite has finally answered this question. Undoubtedly there are alien worlds in abundance throughout our galaxy and beyond, but what if those planets hold more than interesting chemistry and water, what if they contain life itself, could Kepler detect this? And what would it need to detect to prove the existence of an advanced civilisation similar to our own?

How Kepler Detects Exoplanets

The Kepler satellite was launched in 2009, and has since then identified over 1,000 potential exoplanets outside our own star system, circling other stars, some similar to our own. It does this by measuring any flickering coming from a star caused by planets, comets and other astronomical bodies passing between the star and our planet. For a more detailed explanation of why Kepler is important, check out the video below.



 
Tell Tale Signs of an Advanced Alien Civilisation

While the Kepler satellite can detect flickering, it is through complex calculations that scientists are able to assess whether this flickering is caused by planets in another solar system, or something else. One such calculation uses the 3^rd Law of Planetary Motion to ascertain a planet's size and orbit. By knowing a planet's size, we can predict the amount of gravity it will generate. By knowing the orbit, we can tell if it is just in the right sweet spot to allow water and other materials which are associated with life to form. This helps us predict the likelihood of life based on our understanding of how it evolved on earth. But can an advanced alien civilisation be detected? In theory, it is possible that Kepler could detect flickering caused by massive alien constructions orbiting a distant star. This is exactly what some believe the unusual flickering of a star called KIC8462852may be caused by, but others believe there is another explanation. What's certain is that Kepler is opening up our understanding of the universe and just how many life-sustaining planets may be out there, whether someone is staring back at us as we gaze to these strange new worlds, only time will tell.

Have Scientists Found Proof of Alien Life?

The truth may indeed be “out there”. While most accounts of UFOs and little green men have conclusively been shown to be hoaxes, delusions, or the misidentifications of man-made and natural phenomena, astronomers may have found tantalising evidence of an alien civilisation, floating through the vastness of the cosmos. Over this series of articles, the Experimentor_4u blog will examine just how much truth there is to this story.

The Search for E.T.

While most research to find evidence for extra-terrestrial life has focused on Mars and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, there are ongoing efforts to assess the presence of life in the star systems and galaxies outside the boundaries of our own solar system. This has primarily been an effort to find evidence of water via spectral analysis, or by picking up faint radio signals from possible alien civilisations, until now. A study by Jason Wright, an astronomer working out of Penn State University, may indicate that a huge artificial construction is orbiting a distant star.

An Unusual Sun
 
The star, KIC8462852, can be found sitting innocuously between Cygnus and Lyra, two famous constellations. Observed through the Kepler telescope – designed to detect features of star systems including planets – KIC8462852 is a very strange proposition. Kepler has discovered many 'exoplanets', but something startled researchers in this instance; the light from the star behaves in a way unlike any other previously observed. Kepler works by detecting flickering in a star's light which indicates that a planet has moved across its face, momentarily reducing the amount of light which reaches our planet; as the infographic below shows, Kepler can detect all kinds of astronomical data. The flickering of KIC8462852 is different, however; it flickers more often than it should. Some scientists are entertaining the possibility that this is caused by a hypothetical construction called a Dyson Swarm.




Could it Be Evidence of Alien Life?

A Dyson Swarm has been predicted as a way which advanced civilisations could harness the power of a star, by building orbiting structures which collect the rays of the sun much like millions of solar panels. This has been put forward as a serious explanation for the flickering KIC8462852, but there are more grounded explanations such as a planet which has broken up into pieces, or other debris such as comets. Whether it really is an alien construction, only further research will reveal. Stay tuned for the second part of this series about Kepler to discover what experts say would be the true tell-tale signs of the existence of an alien civilisation.