"Dawn Mission scientists were surprised to see this asteroid (dwarf planet Ceres) with a water cycle and evidence of rapid geological changes.
For planetary scientists accustomed to thinking in billions of years, what the Dawn spacecraft revealed about Ceres must have been a shock. A press release from Jet Propulsion Laboratory says, “NASA Dawn Reveals Recent Changes in Ceres’ Surface.” Previously, the spacecraft had detected carbonates that must have been produced in an ocean. Now, they are seeing changes within the observation period of the mission.
Two papers announce the discoveries. One, in Science Advances, speaks of the “detection of water ice in a mid-latitude crater and its unexpected variation with time,” with changes visible in just six months. “The reported variation on Ceres’ surface indicates that this body is chemically and physically active at the present time.”
Ceres joins the young, active object club, a large and growing list. One wonders if planetary scientists will ever find any object that lives up the assumed age of the solar system." CEH
.....by whom also he made the worlds;
Hebrews 1:2
For planetary scientists accustomed to thinking in billions of years, what the Dawn spacecraft revealed about Ceres must have been a shock. A press release from Jet Propulsion Laboratory says, “NASA Dawn Reveals Recent Changes in Ceres’ Surface.” Previously, the spacecraft had detected carbonates that must have been produced in an ocean. Now, they are seeing changes within the observation period of the mission.
Water ice is not stable on the surface of Ceres over long time periods unless it is hidden
in shadows, as in the case of Juling. Similarly, hydrated carbonate would dehydrate, although over a longer timescale of a few million years.
“This implies that the sites rich in hydrated carbonates have been exposed due to recent activity on the surface,” Carrozzo said.
The great diversity of material, ice and carbonates, exposed via impacts, landslides and cryovolcanism suggests Ceres’ crust is not uniform in composition. These heterogeneities were either produced during the freezing of Ceres’ original ocean – which formed the crust – or later on as a consequence of large impacts or cryovolcanic intrusions.
“Changes in the abundance of water ice on a short timescale, as well as the presence of hydrated sodium carbonates, are further evidence that Ceres is a geologically and chemically active body,” said Cristina De Sanctis, VIR team leader at the Institute of Astrophysics and Planetary Science.
Two papers announce the discoveries. One, in Science Advances, speaks of the “detection of water ice in a mid-latitude crater and its unexpected variation with time,” with changes visible in just six months. “The reported variation on Ceres’ surface indicates that this body is chemically and physically active at the present time.”
Ceres joins the young, active object club, a large and growing list. One wonders if planetary scientists will ever find any object that lives up the assumed age of the solar system." CEH
.....by whom also he made the worlds;
Hebrews 1:2
