Ever since being first spotted by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft as it approached the dwarf planet Ceres, the bright spots have been the talk of the town, with scientists, space enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists alike all pitching in their theories on what they could possibly be.
Located in what’s known as the Occator crater, we can now view the bright spots in much finer detail thanks to the Dawn spacecrafts latest high resolution imagery that has been sent back to Earth.
It is still unclear what the bright spots are, and NASA is unsure, it is suspected however that the bright spots on Ceres are possibly concentrations of ice or salt which is reflecting the light of the sun.
“Dawn has transformed what was so recently a few bright dots into a complex and beautiful, gleaming landscape,” said Dawn mission director Marc Rayman. “Soon, the scientific analysis will reveal the geological and chemical nature of this mysterious and mesmerising extraterrestrial scenery.”
It will be interesting to see the final outcome of NASA’s investigations into the mysterious spots.
