Tag: Ceres

  • Bright blobs on Ceres ready for their close-up

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    Dawn’s framing camera captured this image of the brightest spots on Ceres on June 6. The resolution is 1,400 feet (410 meters) per pixel. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA NASA’s Dawn spacecraft got its first glimpse of mysterious bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres on final approach early this year, and scientists Thursday released the sharpest view…

  • Dawn enters new orbit closer to Ceres

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    Dawn captured this view of Ceres on May 7 from a distance of 8,400 miles, or 13,600 kilometers. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA NASA’s Dawn asteroid explorer has arrived at its new perch 2,700 miles from the dwarf planet Ceres, a vantage point scientists say will yield better views as the probe continues to step closer to the…

  • Skating rinks on Ceres? Ice could be source of bright spots

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    This animation shows a sequence of images taken by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft on May 4, 2015, from a distance of 8,400 miles (13,600 kilometers), in its RC3 mapping orbit. The image resolution is 0.8 mile (1.3 kilometers) per pixel. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA Scientists studying fresh pictures from NASA’s Dawn mission say gleaming dots seen on the…

  • Dawn arrives for the first exploration of a dwarf planet

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    Ceres is seen from the Dawn spacecraft on March 1 at a distance of about 30,000 miles. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA NASA’s Dawn spacecraft slipped into orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres on Friday, ready to examine the largest unexplored world in the inner solar system after traveling 3.1 billion miles from Earth. The gravitational tug of…

  • NASA probe closes in on dwarf planet Ceres

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    STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS “SPACE PLACE” & USED WITH PERMISSION Artist’s concept of the Dawn spacecraft on approach to Ceres. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is closing in on the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, beaming back increasingly sharp pictures revealing a heavily cratered world with unexpected…

  • Could these bright spots on Ceres be ice volcanoes?

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    This image taken by Dawn’s framing camera Feb. 19 at a range of 29,000 miles shows two bright spots on the same basin on Ceres. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA The discovery of puzzling bright spots on Ceres, the Texas-sized world now being studied by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, has scientists wondering whether the features could be plumes from…

  • Dawn’s imagery of Ceres keeps getting better

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    These two views of Ceres were acquired by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft on Feb. 12, 2015, from a distance of about 52,000 miles (83,000 kilometers) as the dwarf planet rotated. The images, which were taken about 10 hours apart, have been magnified from their original size. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA Images from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft on approach to…

  • Dawn revealing unprecedented views of dwarf planet Ceres

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    Views of Ceres taken by Dawn on Feb. 4 at a range of 90,000 miles. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA/PSI Fresh imagery from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft reveal the icy dwarf planet Ceres in new detail, showing surface features coming into focus as the probe nears insertion into orbit for a comprehensive survey of the unexplored world. The pictures…

  • Dawn’s camera resolves fuzzy features on Ceres

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    Ceres is seen by Dawn’s framing camera at a range of 238,000 miles (383,000 kilometers). Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is tantalizing scientists with new imagery of Ceres, a dwarf planet orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter, as the probe closes in on the icy world for 16 months of up-close observations. The…

  • Dawn begins final approach to dwarf planet Ceres

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    Artist’s concept of the Dawn spacecraft firing its ion propulsion system on approach to Ceres. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has begun its final approach to the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt, for an in-depth survey of the uncharted world. The solar-powered space probe is scheduled to arrive at Ceres…