REAL LIFE NEWS: CERES HAS A MOUNTAIN
by Hazed
NASA’s Dawn probe has sent back pictures of the dwarf planet Ceres which show a five kilometre high, smooth-sided dome which is studded with bright reflective spots. The feature, named Ahuna Mons, is about 20km in diametre.
NASA scientists are baffled. “No one expected a mountain on Ceres, especially one like Ahuna Mons,” said Chris Russell, Dawn’s principal investigator at the University of California, Los Angeles. “We still do not have a satisfactory model to explain how it formed.”
The bright spots are thought to be caused by reflective salts that have bubbled up from the dwarf planet’s moist interior when comets have struck the surface.
The scientists need more data to be sure what their theory about the cause is correct, so will be keen to see what Dawn sends them in the future as it continues to orbit Ceres.
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/03/07/mysterious_shining_mountain_on_ceres/
