NASA's Dawn spacecraft beamed back several high resolution images last week, and experts have identified several planetary features that were captured in astonishing detail.
"Dawn is performing flawlessly in this new orbit as it conducts its ambitious exploration. The spacecraft's view is now three times as sharp as in its previous mapping orbit, revealing exciting new details of this intriguing dwarf planet," Marc Rayman, Dawn's chief engineer and mission director, said in a NASA announcement.
The images include an intriguing view of a solitary conical mountain that is 6,437 meters high, an altitude that is roughly the same as Mount McKinley in Alaska, which is considered the tallest peak in North America. Researchers at NASA are still analyzing the images of the mountain, but they seem to agree on its oddity.
"It's unusual that it's not associated with a crater," Dawn science team member geologist Paul Schenk told IGN. "Why is it sitting in the middle of nowhere? We don't know yet, but we may find out with closer observations." Indeed, the land formation is not part of any mountain range. It has a very sharply defined ridged base with almost no accumulated debris. Dawn has located the mountain in the southern hemisphere of the planet, according to NASA.
Other mysterious features found on Ceres' surface include the massive Gaue crater, which spans 52 miles in diameter, Space.com reported. Dawn has also captured several bright patches, which could indicate that the planet was once active and alive, as HNGN previously reported.
Scientists said that they are currently theorizing as to what is the patches' nature and composition. "We are now comparing the spots with the reflective properties of salt, but we are still puzzled by their source. We look forward to new, higher-resolution data from the mission's next orbital phase," said Chris Russell, Dawn's pricipal investigator, according to IGN.
Ceres is a dwarf planet situated within the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Dawn's exploration of the planet began in March of this year after it successfully orbited the massive asteroid Vesta from 2011 to 2012.
