Dawn Probe Gets Closest Look Yet at Ceres' Bright Spots
Closer look yields new clues about cause of the lights.
— -- NASA's Dawn probe has gotten its closest look yet at the alien lights reflecting from the dwarf planet Ceres.
Taken from a distance of 4,500 miles, the image shows two bright spots on the dwarf planet in new detail, appearing to reflect from inside a crater on Ceres' surface.
Discovered earlier this year as Dawn approached Ceres, the bright spots have been a mystery to scientists who have speculated they could be icy volcanoes or salt.
Christopher Russell, principal investigator for the Dawn mission, said with the closer look that "scientists can now conclude that the intense brightness of these spots is due to the reflection of sunlight by highly reflective material on the surface, possibly ice."
Nearly 600 miles in diameter, about 25 percent of Ceres' mass is believed to be ice. NASA's Dawn mission has been orbiting Ceres since March and will continue studying the dwarf planet through June 2016.