Planetary Society logo
  • “Exploration is in our nature.” - Carl Sagan

Ceres from XMO3

Ceres from XMO3
Ceres from XMO3 Dawn took this photo of Ceres on Feb. 11 from XMO3 at an altitude of about 4,700 miles (7,500 kilometers). Most striking are the reflections from Cerealia Facula (the brightest region, at the center of the crater) and Vinalia Faculae (the grouping to the right), sodium carbonates concentrated in Occator Crater. The salt was left behind when the water it had been dissolved in sublimated. Sodium carbonates have been found at only three solar system bodies: Ceres, Earth, and Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Visible in profile on the limb at the right, only slightly higher in the picture than Occator, is the cryovolcano Ahuna Mons. From this distance, it is not very prominent, but the towering mountain is the tallest structure on the dwarf planet. You can locate this scene on this map using these two features. Occator is at 20°N, 239°E, and Ahuna Mons is at 11°S, 316°E. Full image and caption. NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA