Dawn is now in orbit around Ceres

[Scepticalscribe]

Great picture, by the way. Thanks for sharing, @bobob.

 

[bobob]

New close-ups of the bright spots...

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft swung into its lowest orbit yet—a cool cruising height of 240 miles and started snapping pictures of a variety of features of the dwarf planet. Most of the shots are detailed images of things we’d already caught in broad-stroke versions, but there’s also a clue to something perhaps bigger.

So what’s the big surprise? It’s that researchers are not sure that the glowing areas of the Kupalo Crater (pictured above) are caused by the same process as the ones they identified on the Occator Crater late last year. In that case, the likely cause was salt. But in this one, researchers are not yet ready to make a final call. It could be salt, they say, but it could also be a different, as yet unknown, cause.

 

[obeygiant]

New close-ups of the bright spots...

A little mesmerizing. I predict that in a 1000 years there'll be mining platforms there!

 

[bobob]

NASA's new animation of Ceres data: Flight Over Ceres

(Note: It's in false color to highlight surface detail, and I'm also suspicious that the accompanying score doesn't play when you're actually orbiting Ceres.)

 

[bobob]

I can remember in the mid-70s I was absolutely confident that we would land a man on Mars no later than 2000. What a letdown.

Agreed - - we could have been going on a hike to Murray Buttes this weekend!

 

[obeygiant]

^^ whoa those are new! great images.

 

[aaronvan]

We need an astronaut with a rock hammer there ASAP.

 

[MacNut]

We need an astronaut with a rock hammer there ASAP.

Maybe they can send Orlando.

 

[bobob]

While we're at it, we can go have a peek at the Phobos monolith...

 

[Flynnstone]

life mimics art!

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

 

[obeygiant]

Unless it's "deliberately buried" its of no significance.

 

[Teon]

It's the first spacecraft to orbit two different celestial bodies and the first to orbit dwarf planet.

http://www.space.com/28754-nasa-dawn-ceres-dwarf-planet-arrival.html

Pluto flyby occurring later this year. Good times.

someone of russians said "We live in an era of great discoveries"