Tag Archives: Ceres

In the Sky This Week – February 26, 2019

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This entry is part 84 of 97 in the series In the Sky This Week

This summer’s nationwide library reading program, “A Universe of Stories,” coincides with NASA’s 60th anniversary, and the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The Warren Astronomical Society (Michigan) has received multiple requests from libraries for summer speakers, astronomy programs and display case setups – and they’re still coming in! I’ve reached out to other astronomy clubs and volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors in southeastern Michigan for help covering all the outreach requests. If you are looking for speakers for this summer, Solar System Ambassadors in your state, and local astronomy clubs are a great resource. You can find many clubs and events listed on the NASA Night Sky Network site. Venus and Saturn continue to spread apart this week, and the waning crescent Moon appears very near several planets in the southeastern predawn sky. Mercury can be seen very low in the western sky at dusk this week. Mars and Uranus are high in the west-southwestern sky before midnight; … Continue reading →

Sunset for Dawn

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This entry is part 27 of 27 in the series The Dawn Misson to the Asteroid Belt

NASA’s Dawn mission has come to an end; the spacecraft has run out of propellant, and is no longer able to point its antenna at Earth. I’ve seen numerous posts online from distraught astronomers and space enthusiasts – this post will add to that cacophony. The Dawn spacecraft visited the two most massive bodies in the main asteroid belt: asteroid 4 Vesta, and dwarf planet Ceres; Dawn orbited both of these bodies – a first in spaceflight history. Dawn was propelled by an ion drive; with barely a breath of thrust, its engine operated for tens of thousands of hours; Dawn set the record for velocity change produced by a spacecraft’s engines. I’ve followed the Dawn mission since its launch; “The Dawn Mission at Asteroid Vesta” was the first topic I lectured about as a volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador. So much new and interesting information kept pouring in during the mission, I had to update my Dawn lecture continuously; I’ve … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – May 22, 2018

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This entry is part 44 of 97 in the series In the Sky This Week

Jupiter has almost left the morning sky; Mars and Saturn are slowly making their way southward. I was a bit surprised to catch a flyover of the International Space Station when I copied this image from Stellarium! Jupiter is in the southeastern sky after sunset, and is a great observing target. The Moon The Moon is at first quarter on the 22nd, and then a waxing gibbous until full on the 29th. This whole week will be great for observing the moon through telescopes. The Moon is in the southwestern sky after sunset for the next few days. The Sun We have a spot! Active Region (AR) 2710 is rotating into view on the Sun – it’s so small it may be difficult to see through telescopes for a few days. AR2710 has a lot of coronal loop activity above it (left side of video), and coronal holes remain at both poles. Surprisingly, there are no Earthward facing coronal holes along … Continue reading →

NASA Space Place: What Is the Asteroid Belt?

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What Is the Asteroid Belt? By Linda Hermans-Killiam There are millions of pieces of rocky material left over from the formation of our solar system. These rocky chunks are called asteroids, and they can be found orbiting our Sun.  Most asteroids are found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. They orbit the Sun in a doughnut-shaped region of space called the asteroid belt. Asteroids come in many different sizes—from tiny rocks to giant boulders. Some can even be hundreds of miles across! Asteroids are mostly rocky, but some also have metals inside, such as iron and nickel. Almost all asteroids have irregular shapes. However, very large asteroids can have a rounder shape. The asteroid belt is about as wide as the distance between Earth and the Sun. It’s a big space, so the objects in the asteroid belt aren’t very close together. That means there is plenty of room for spacecraft to safely pass through the belt. In fact, … Continue reading →

Dawn Mission Extended at Ceres a Second Time

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This entry is part of 27 in the series The Dawn Misson to the Asteroid Belt

NASA has authorized a second extension of the Dawn mission at Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. During this extension, the spacecraft will descend to lower altitudes than ever before at the dwarf planet, which it has been orbiting since March 2015. The spacecraft will continue at Ceres for the remainder of its science investigation and will remain in a stable orbit indefinitely after its hydrazine fuel runs out. The Dawn flight team is studying ways to maneuver Dawn into a new elliptical orbit, which may take the spacecraft to less than 120 miles (200 kilometers) from the surface of Ceres at closest approach. Previously, Dawn’s lowest altitude was 240 miles (385 kilometers). A priority of the second Ceres mission extension is collecting data with Dawn’s gamma ray and neutron spectrometer, which measures the number and energy of gamma rays and neutrons. This information is important for understanding the composition of Ceres’ uppermost layer … Continue reading →

Across the Universe: Spotting Ceres

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This entry is part 112 of 184 in the series Across the Universe

This column first ran in The Tablet in March 2015 Ceres was the first body found in the region between Mars and Jupiter now called the Asteroid Belt. In the late 1700s Titius and Bode had noted a pattern in planet positions that suggested there should be a planet in the gap between Mars and Jupiter; on New Year’s Day of 1801, Father Giuseppi Piazzi found Ceres from his observatory in Sicily. They expected a planet, so that’s what they called Ceres – though William Herschel, who had just discovered the gas giant Uranus, sniffed that such a tiny dot of light was neither planet nor star (Latin, “aster”) but a mere “asteroid.” Only fifty years later, when a number of other such small bodies had been found, did Ceres and the other asteroids get “demoted” to the status of “minor planet.” (And later work showed that the Titius-Bode pattern which predicted a planet at Ceres’ position was actually just … Continue reading →

Dawn Probe to Remain in Ceres Orbit

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This entry is part 4 of 27 in the series The Dawn Misson to the Asteroid Belt

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has completed its primary mission – to explore the two most massive bodies in the main asteroid belt: asteroid 4 Vesta, and dwarf planet Ceres. After a recent mission extension, Dawn will continue studying Ceres – essentially becoming a long-term reconnaissance orbiter. Extended missions approved for @NASA_Dawn, Mars orbiters, @LRO_NASA, @NASANewHorizons, more: https://t.co/vPXmOYGjW5 pic.twitter.com/Qrzcyeg8zP — NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) July 1, 2016 One of the advantages of long-term observations is seeing changes that occur over time, as with the seasonally recurring slope lineae on Mars, and fresh impact craters on both the Moon and Mars. There was a brief period of confusion on various social media sites, as rumors that Dawn was possibly going to leave Ceres and fly-by asteroid 145 Adeona, but Jim Green, NASA’s Director of Planetary Science, noted that long-term monitoring of Ceres had more of a potential for significant scientific discoveries than a flyby of Adeona. Scientists have found permanently shadowed craters on Ceres; … Continue reading →

Dawn Mapping of Ceres Continues

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This entry is part 3 of 27 in the series The Dawn Misson to the Asteroid Belt

The Dawn mission as almost completely mapped the surface of dwarf planet Ceres at a resolution of 35 meters (120 feet) per pixel – far surpassing the original objective of imaging 80% percent of Ceres’ surface at a resolution of 200 meters (660 feet) per pixel. From the Dawn Blog: “Since April 11, instead of photographing the scenery directly beneath it, Dawn has been aiming its camera to the left and forward as it orbits and Ceres rotates. By May 25, it will have mapped most of the globe from that angle. Then it will start all over once more, looking instead to the right and forward from May 27 through July 10. The different perspectives on the terrain make stereo views, which scientists can combine to bring out the full three dimensionality of the alien world.” Dawn is using its gamma ray and neutron detector (GRaND) to reveal the atomic composition of Ceres’ crust to a depth of about a … Continue reading →

Bright Spot on Ceres in Hi-Rez

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This entry is part 1 of 27 in the series The Dawn Misson to the Asteroid Belt

The Dawn mission team has produced this high-resolution enhanced-color image of the bright spots in Occator crater on Ceres. In the crater’s center, the close-up reveals a fractured dome surrounded by a smooth-walled pit. The image above was created by combining high-resolution images of Occator crater obtained in February 2016, with color images obtained in September 2015. Color images were taken using 438, 550 and 965 nanometer filters (the latter in the near-infrared, and slightly beyond the range of human vision). Compare that with the image below, taken during Dawn’s approach to Ceres in early 2015; at that time, the spots were all over the news as “The Mysterious Bright Spots.” The bright spots on Ceres are best explained as the result of briny water erupting from Ceres’ interior, and then sublimating away into space, leaving behind salty deposits and ammonia-rich clays. More Info: Dawn Mission Page … Continue reading →

Color Topography of Ahuna Mons on Ceres

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This entry is part 2 of 27 in the series The Dawn Misson to the Asteroid Belt

The Dawn mission team as released colorized topographic views of the region around Ahuna Mons, a mysterious conical mountain on Ceres. Both views were created using images taken at an orbital distance of about 385 km (240 mi) above the surface, with a resolution of about 35 m (120 ft) per pixel. The elevations span a range of about 9 km (5.5 mi) from the lowest places (blue) to the highest terrains (brown). The side perspective view (below) was created by draping image mosaics over a shape model. Congratulations to the Dawn mission team for winning not one but TWO awards! National Aeronautic Association Robert J. Collier Trophy, presented annually “for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency and safety of air or space vehicles.” National Space Club and Foundation’s Nelson P. Jackson Award, presented annually for “a significant contribution to the missile, aircraft or space field.” More Info: Dawn Mission … Continue reading →

Images from Dawn’s Low Altitude Mapping Orbit

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This entry is part of 27 in the series The Dawn Misson to the Asteroid Belt

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft recently reached its lowest altitude orbit over dwarf planet Ceres, and has been returning images of craters on Ceres with a network of cracks, bright material exposed on crater rims, and in spots all over the surface, and rough cratered terrain everywhere. The Dawn spacecraft has returned more than 16,000 pictures of Ceres in 2015, including more than 2,000 since descending to its low orbit in December 2015. January 1, 2016 is the 215th anniversary of Giuseppe Piazzi’s discovery of Ceres. More: New Details On Ceres Seen in Dawn Images Dawn Blog … Continue reading →

Ceres South Polar Region

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This entry is part 7 of 27 in the series The Dawn Misson to the Asteroid Belt

The Dawn spacecraft is orbiting Ceres at its final altitude of 385 km (240 mi). The Dawn Twitter feed has been awash recently with images of the surface of the dwarf planet. The image above shows an area near Ceres’ south polar region. The shadows appear elongated because from this perspective, so close to Ceres’ south pole, the sun is never very high in the sky. On Dec. 18, 2015, the Dawn twitter feed posted that the spacecraft had begun intensive observations of Ceres. Update: Today I begin my intensive observations of #Ceres at this lowest altitude (~240 mi) pic.twitter.com/yUWFsPaxj9 — NASA's Dawn Mission (@NASA_Dawn) December 18, 2015 Today, on the final day of 2015, the Dawn Twitter feed posted a video showing some of the amazing images the Dawn spacecraft has returned from Ceres over the past year. I've had an amazing first year at #Ceres! Some photos of my journey: pic.twitter.com/g3z1SMRBF7 — NASA's Dawn Mission (@NASA_Dawn) December 31, … Continue reading →