Dwarf Planet Ceres Captured in Stunning Detail

NASA's Dawn probe snaps photo showing small world's features.

ByABC News
August 25, 2015, 1:34 PM
NASA's Dawn spacecraft spotted this tall, conical mountain on Ceres from a distance of 915 miles (1,470 kilometers). The mountain, located in the southern hemisphere, stands 4 miles (6 kilometers) high. Its perimeter is sharply defined, with almost no accumulated debris at the base of the brightly streaked slope.
NASA's Dawn spacecraft spotted this tall, conical mountain on Ceres from a distance of 915 miles (1,470 kilometers). The mountain, located in the southern hemisphere, stands 4 miles (6 kilometers) high. Its perimeter is sharply defined, with almost no accumulated debris at the base of the brightly streaked slope.
NASA

— -- NASA's Dawn is giving people on Earth a look at the stunning details on the dwarf planet Ceres.

Photos released today show the closest-ever views the spacecraft has taken of the tiny world including a look at a conical mountain stretching four miles high in Ceres' southern hemisphere and various crater formation features.

Dawn's framing camera is currently being used to map the surface which will allow scientists to create a 3-D model of Ceres.

The spacecraft is orbiting Ceres from 915-miles away and takes 11 days to capture and send images of Ceres' entire surface back to Earth. During each 11-day period, Dawn orbits Ceres 14 times, according to NASA.

Dawn has been orbiting Ceres since March and will continue studying the dwarf planet through June 2016.

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