Ceres dwarf planet in the Asteroid Belt

* "Dawn Spacecraft Begins Approach to Dwarf Planet Ceres" (2014-12-29) [http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4425] [https://archive.today/pccdh]

* "Dawn Delivers New Image of Ceres" (2015-01-19) [http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/dawn-delivers-new-image-of-ceres/] [https://archive.today/F0ZaG]


* "NASA’s Dawn spacecraft’s latest photo reveals bright spot on dwarf planet Ceres has second bright area nearby" (2015-02-27) [https://archive.today/UhHRE].
This image was taken by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft of dwarf planet Ceres on Feb. 19 from a distance of nearly 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers). It shows that the brightest spot on Ceres has a dimmer companion, which apparently lies in the same basin. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA)


* "Bright Spots Shine in Newest Dawn Ceres Images" (2015-06-10, jpl.nasa.gov) [archive.is/GyvBW]
Vote on your favorite explanation for the bright lights of Ceres [jpl.nasa.gov/dawn/world_ceres].
Update on the mystery lights discovered on the Ceres dwarf planet.
While the source for the lights is not yet known, NASA has released a high-resolution image [https://archive.today/sBTKY], also an animated .gif image showing Ceres rotating in a sped-up movie comprised of images taken by NASA's Dawn mission during its approach to the dwarf planet. The images were taken on Feb. 19, 2015, from a distance of nearly 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers). Dawn observed Ceres for a full rotation of the dwarf planet, which lasts about nine hours. The images have a resolution of 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) per pixel.
Dawn's mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The University of California, Los Angeles, is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. [http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission].


* "Dramatic Clips: The Mystery Bright Spots On Ceres" (2015-05-15) [archive.is/R46Lc]:
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft flew by the dwarf planet Ceres this week. Located between Mars and Jupiter,  Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt. Scientists are still trying to figure out what’s causing the bright spots … theories being floated are ice, salt, etc. What do you think the bright spots are: Ice? Salt? Alien disco party? Death Star being powered up? See the NASA animated image showing the bright spots of Ceres [archive.is/jlgeo].
* "Ceres bright spots: Clearer pictures, but still no answers" (2015-05-22, UPI newswire) [archive.is/Vdl0Z]

* "Recent Hydrothermal Activity May Explain Ceres' Brightest Area" (2016-07-01, JPL Newswire) [archive.is/NVtIT]

* "Life on Ceres? Mysterious changes in the bright spots still baffle scientists" (2016-05-27, phys.org) [archive.is/wUqbO]

* "Calling All Stargazers! NASA Looks to Crowdsource Mysteries of Ceres; Stumped NASA researchers are welcoming help from the public to solve the many mysteries of dwarf planet Ceres of the Solar System’s asteroid belt. We’ve got some ideas" (2015-10-01, sputniknews.com) [archive.is/33asM]

* "Ceres' Bright Spots Seen in Striking New Detail" (2015-09-09, jpl.nasa.gov) [archive.is/Q5z7Q], photo caption: This image taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows Occator crater on Ceres, home to a collection of intriguing bright spots. The bright spots are much brighter than the rest of Ceres' surface, and tend to appear overexposed in most images. This view is a composite of two images of Occator: one using a short exposure that captures the detail in the bright spots, and one where the background surface is captured at normal exposure.