The Dwarf Planet Ceres is Rich in Water - Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion August 13, 2020
The largest member of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter is home to oceans deeper than those on Earth, Dawn discovers.
Ceres is rich with water, the Dawn spacecraft finds. What can this mean for finding life on other worlds?
By James Maynard
Bright regions of the Occator Crater on Ceres are the result of deep deposits of salty water, a new study finds. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
Water on Ceres – the largest dwarf planet in the inner solar system – is more plentiful than previously believed. New findings from the Dawn spacecraft reveal this body is encompassed by salty oceans.
Data from the Dawn spacecraft, the first robotic explorer to orbit a dwarf planet, revealed this icy body was surprisingly active, housing an ocean far deeper than any found on Earth.