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ceres

NEWS: NASA Releases Salty New Video of Dwarf Planet Ceres: WATCH

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Ceres

NASA this week released a very cool video of our solar system’s dwarf planet Ceres, a composite of images taken by the Dawn spacecraft. Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt. The clip includes a flyover view of Occator Crater, home of Ceres’ brightest area. False color was used to determine differences in surface materials, and examine bright spots on the object. The bright material, NASA says, is consistent with salt, silicate, and sulfates. Original Article at Towleroad.com

NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Orbits A Dwarf Planet

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Ceres

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft made history at 4:39 a.m. PST Friday morning when it reached Ceres and became the first man-made object to orbit a dwarf planet. According to NASA, the objective of the Dawn mission is to “study the asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, celestial bodies believed to have accreted early in the history of the solar system. The mission will characterize the early solar system and the processes that dominated its formation.” Dawn was launched from Cape Canaveral in September 2007, with an ultimate destination of the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter. Dawn’s first target … Read more