New images of the dwarf planet Ceres. NASA released images of the pyramid on Ceres High resolution images of Ceres
The Dawn spacecraft continues its leisurely exploration of the asteroid Ceres. So, on Friday, October 23, he conducted another inclusion of the ion propulsion system in order to move to the fourth and final scientific orbit around this object of the asteroid belt. At present, the apparatus has successfully completed its two-month research work at an altitude of 1470 kilometers from the surface of Ceres and transmitted a variety of information to Earth.
In the new orbit, Dawn will continue to map Ceres, and the device will descend to it for more than seven weeks. The final height above the surface will be only 380 kilometers. Sometime in mid-December 2015, Dawn will begin collecting scientific information, including images of Ceres at 35 meters per pixel.
Specialists from the Dawn mission have unveiled a new image of the mysterious spots on the asteroid Ceres. This image is the closest and most detailed view of the Okator crater to date, which is home to these mysterious features. The image resolution is 140 meters per pixel.
September 10, 2015
From the orbit in which the device was located, the shapes of the brightest central spot, as well as other features of the crater itself, are already very clearly visible. But, since these spots are still much brighter than the underlying surface, the specialists in the presented image actually combined two frames: one frame is correctly exposed to study the spots, and the other so that you can see the bottom of the crater.
“Thanks to the Dawn station, we were able to transform a distant strange spot into a complex, beautiful and breathtaking landscape right before our eyes. Very soon, scientific analysis will show the geological and chemical nature this mysterious and hypnotic extraterrestrial landscape." - Mark Reiman, Chief Engineer Dawn missions.
Currently spacecraft completed two eleven-day cycles of mapping the surface of Ceres, and on September 9, 2015 began the third. In total, over the next two months, Dawn will create a surface map six times, and each cycle consists of 14 orbits. By creating maps in each orbit from a slightly different angle, scientists will eventually be able to create stereo images and a fully 3D representation.
In the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Ceres It was discovered on January 1, 1801 by the astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi at the observatory in Palermo, Italy.
Comparative dimensions Ceres, Earth and Moon.
As you can see, the planet Ceres is much smaller than the Moon, and yet Ceres is the most big planet in the main asteroid belt...
If our Moon were in this belt, it would be a real giant!
And these are the sizes of Ceres and Vesta with the Moon.
They account for 41% of the total mass of the Main Asteroid Belt.
| - physical characteristics Equatorial radius - 487.3 ± 1.8 km Polar radius - 454.7 ± 1.6 km Mass (m) - 9.43 ± 0.07 x 1020 kg Average density - 2.077 g / cm 3 Acceleration of gravity at the equator - 0.27 m / s 2 (0.028 g) Axis tilt - approx. 3° North Pole Declination - 59° Albedo - 0.09 ± 0.0033 Spectral class - C Apparent stellar magnitude - from 6.7 to 9.32 Absolute magnitude - 3.36 ± 0.02 Angular Diameter - 0.84" to 0.33" |
- characteristics of the orbit: Perihelion - 381,028,000 km (2.5465 AU) Aphelion - 446,521,000 km (2.9842 AU) Semi-major axis (a) - 413,767,000 km (2.7653 AU) Orbital eccentricity (e) - 0.07934 Sidereal circulation period - 1680.5 days (4.60 Earth years) Orbital speed (v) - 17.882 km/s Inclination to the Ecliptic (i) - 10.585° |
It is the largest body in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. According to calculations, Ceres accounts for 32% of the mass of this asteroid belt. The planet Ceres is placed in the recently identified class of dwarf planets along with Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. It is the smallest of them. Dwarf planets are distinguished, among other things, by the fact that they have enough mass to give themselves a spherical shape under the influence of their own gravity.
It is assumed that planet Ceres has a stone core, an icy mantle, and a thin layer of regolith on the surface. Moreover, the mantle consists of water ice, which makes up to 20-30% of the mass of Ceres.
According to some estimates, Ceres contains about 200 million km³ of water in the form of ice. This is 1/10 of the volume of the earth's oceans and more than the earth's reserves fresh water.
Ceres is one of the most promising sites for colonization in the distant future:
* Ceres has a very low gravity, that is, takeoff and landing are greatly facilitated spaceships;
* Large reserves of water ice will provide the colony with water, fuel and air (water splits into hydrogen and oxygen)
* Ceres is a convenient base for exploring the systems of the giant planets, due to its convenient location between the Inner and Outer planets.
But there are also difficulties:
* Not on Ceres magnetic field which will adversely affect human health
* Low temperatures due to little sunlight
* There is not even a weak atmosphere that could partially protect at least from the smallest dust-like meteorites;
* Main belt asteroids pose a danger to ships
It is quite possible to see Ceres through a telescope - the brightness can reach about 7 magnitudes, but to consider the details - alas.
Even the image of Ceres from the Hubble telescope looked rather modest. And this is taking into account its power in the absence of atmospheric distortion. Until recently Ceres studied only with the help of telescops, including radio telescopes, which showed that the surface of Ceres is relatively smooth.
Therefore, great hopes were placed on NASA's "Down" ("Dawn"), which was launched on September 27, 2007 after numerous delays.
In 2011, the Dawn spacecraft went into orbit around Vesta and then headed towards Ceres.
Dawn entered the orbit of Ceres on March 6, 2015 and met the expectations of earthlings, starting a series of images, gradually descending over the planet.
Here is a short June video of the results of photography. Approximately 80 individual shots used.
On June 3, 2015, Rassvet entered an orbit of 4400 km. and began a new series of shots that will be taken until June 28.
The clarity of the images has increased markedly, the spots have broken up into separate parts that previously merged into one. A sharp black line became more noticeable, "stuck" into the central light spot "from the bottom right". This line looks like a defect in the image, but in the earlier picture it was already present in this place.
But still the spots remain a mystery. So far, this is the best image of spots on Ceres.
Video from NASA posted on August 6th. This is a video of a three-dimensional model of the surface of Ceres, more precisely, two of its regions - with incomprehensible bright spots and an area with a high pointed mountain, a peak about 6 km high above the surrounding surface:
Video from NASA posted on September 9th. A computer model of the Occator crater on Ceres, in which those very bright spots are located:
On September 9th, new images of bright spots in the Occator crater were posted.
The resolution was 140 meters per point.
The pictures were taken from a height of 1470 km.
The walls of Occator are curious - in some places they reach a height of two kilometers and at the same time are completely sheer.
Alas, the new pictures so far have not particularly clarified anything. On the other hand, these spots have little resemblance to the lights of alien cities.
We are waiting for the further descent of the Dawn apparatus - the next series of images will be taken from an orbit of 375 kilometers.
Video from NASA posted on January 29, 2016.
Video based on images from a height of 1450 km. from August to October 2015.
On June 29, 2016, researchers announced that, according to new data, sodium carbonate is the main mineral of Ceres' mysterious bright area in the Occator crater. On Earth, it is most commonly found in hydrothermal vents. This suggests hydrothermal activity on Ceres in the past.
The highest mountain on Ceres - Ahuna Mons (Ahuna Mons), is a cryovolcano with a height of 5 kilometers.
The current position of Ceres and other most notable celestial bodies look at the Sky Map Online page. More on this topic:
Asteroid Vesta
Eris - dwarf planet
Ceres is the largest asteroid in the asteroid belt and has achieved dwarf planet status. The race to discover this planet still began in 1781, at the time when the planet Uranus was discovered, located in the very region of space in space that belonged to the Titius-Bode rule. The rule of Titius (German scientist) proves the regularity of the increase in the increase in the radii of the orbits of the planets located near the Sun. Some time later, this rule turned out to be inaccurate, and the discovery of Uranus in the same place gave rise to an avid "hunt for the planets" among astronomers of past centuries.
Discovery history
Later, in 1800, the international group scientists - astronomers "Heavenly Guard". Around the clock, she conducted observations of the space in space between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, that is, in the area where that still undiscovered planet should have been located. Ceres was discovered in this area by the Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi in 1801. At first he mistook her for a comet, but nevertheless noticed that she had some peculiarities. Throughout the year, attempts to fix the existence of this asteroid planet were made by other scientists, but only on the last day of 1801 did they manage to confirm its existence. With this, the Titius-Bode rule again acquired justice. Giuseppe Piazzi himself called the asteroid planet "Ceres", although before that it was pronounced as "Ceres Ferdinand".
In 1802, Ceres was classified as an asteroid. The largest cosmic body in the main asteroid belt has a diameter of 950 kilometers, has the shape of a sphere, which arose due to the presence of Ceres of its own gravity, and six thousand times less mass than the Earth has, and at the same time makes up a third of the total mass of objects asteroid belts.
According to scientists, after the asteroid Ceres acquired a spherical shape, processes of gradual displacement of the heaviest rocks to the central part began to take place on it. The result of this displacement was the formation of a stone core. Water ice makes up the outer shell, which is about 100 kilometers thick, more than Earth's fresh water supply.
Research
Ceres is one of the main participants, with good prospects, in the projected space developments. This is primarily due to the fact that it contains huge stock fresh water, and this fact may serve as an opportunity to create life here.
In terms of colonization, Ceres is of great interest. At the second stage of space exploration, they plan to colonize Ceres. At the first stage, they expect to colonize space objects located relatively close to the Earth, the Moon, Venus, Mars, and Mercury.
distant future
Ceres is located between the gas giants and the terrestrial planets, has good conditions, allowing it to serve as an ideal transshipment point for the creation of space bases on it. The negative factors of this planet include low gravity and the absence of a magnetic field, which is a negative factor for human health.
Animation of the flight of the DAWN spacecraft from Vesta to Ceres
As it approaches Ceres, Dawn makes more and more discoveries. Following the bright spots on the surface of the dwarf planet, the spacecraft discovered a pyramid-shaped mountain. The new photos were taken from a distance of 4400 kilometers.
Just six months ago, Ceres was observed as a few pixels. Now Dawn is approaching the dwarf planet as close as possible. By December of this year, the spacecraft will be just 360 kilometers above the surface of Ceres, which is lower than the flight altitude of the International Space Station above Earth, writes the British newspaper Daily Mail.
It is noteworthy that the pyramidal mountain rises above a relatively flat surface. In height, this hill is comparable to the Mont Blanc massif between France and Italy. Mont Blanc, whose height reaches 4810 meters, is the most high mountain in Europe.
Another photo shows a few more bright spots. The diameter of the largest of the detected bright spots is about nine kilometers. Scientists are inclined to believe that these areas are formed by the reflection of sunlight by salt and ice.
The first mysterious spot Dawn spotted a few months ago. As they approached the planet, their number began to grow. Researchers have already managed to count up to eight spots. In fact, there may be even more.
Other images show patches of lines and craters scattered across the surface of Ceres, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Landslides and destroyed structures of natural origin also testify to the activity on its surface in the past.
Dawn, arriving at Ceres on March 6, 2015, is the first spacecraft to visit the orbits of two separate celestial bodies in solar system. Prior to that, he studied the protoplanet Vesta.
Dawn will remain in its current orbit until June 30th. In early August, he and Ceres will be separated by a distance of only 1450 kilometers.
NASA's Dawn space probe has transmitted the highest quality images of the dwarf planet Ceres to date.
The NASA space probe took pictures of the southern hemisphere of Ceres with a record resolution of 35 meters per pixel. The agency released photographs taken from the mission of the American Dawn probe, launched in late September 2007. The photographs were taken on December 10 from a record low altitude of approximately 385 kilometers, writes Notepad.
In October 2015, the probe began its final descent into its final orbit of just 385 kilometers, where the spacecraft will operate until shutdown in 2016.
"Dawn" has become intcbatch the first space probe to complete an unprecedented mission. Having studied Vesta (one of the largest asteroids), he left its orbit and headed for another object - Ceres (the dwarf planet closest to Earth).
The Dawn spacecraft was launched into space on September 27, 2007 using a Delta-2 launch vehicle. The main objectives of the probe research were the most massive objects main asteroid belt: the asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The study of Vesta was completed in mid-2012, after which the device headed for its second target - the dwarf planet Ceres, arriving in March 2015.
