Dwarf Planet Ceres Captured in Stunning Detail

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

By
ALYSSA NEWCOMB
August 25, 2015, 1:34 PM ET
2 min read

— -- 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.

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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.