Dawn probe

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NASA’s Dawn probe falls silent, ending mission to mysterious dwarf planet Ceres

by Alan Boyle on November 1, 2018November 1, 2018 at 4:49 pmComment

Dawn is dead, but Dawn is not gone: Today NASA said that the Dawn spacecraft has fallen out of contact with Earth, presumably because it’s run out of the thruster… Read More

NASA’s Dawn probe snaps close-ups of Ceres’ formerly mysterious white spots

by Alan Boyle on July 3, 2018July 4, 2018 at 7:53 amComment

The once-mysterious bright spots shining on the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres are getting their closest close-ups from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, adding to the strangest sights of the solar… Read More

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Happy Kwanzaa from NASA – and Ceres!

by Alan Boyle on December 27, 2017December 27, 2017 at 2:04 pmComment

Kwanzaa may be an African-American festival on Earth, but it’s also a cute little mountain on the dwarf planet Ceres – and there’s a reason for that connection to the season.… Read More

Water, water everywhere on Ceres: Ice lies just below dwarf planet’s surface

by Alan Boyle on December 15, 2016December 15, 2016 at 6:25 pm1 Comment

Readings from instruments aboard NASA’s Dawn orbiter support the view that a treasure trove of frozen water lies just beneath the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres. Researchers reported those findings… Read More

Dawn probe points to ice volcano and thin atmosphere on dwarf planet Ceres

by Alan Boyle on September 1, 2016September 1, 2016 at 8:01 pm 5 Comments

Scientists say a mysterious mountain on the dwarf planet Ceres was apparently once an ice volcano, spewing salty water and mud instead of lava. They also say Ceres has patches… Read More

NASA extends New Horizons mission to Kuiper Belt, tells Dawn to stay at Ceres

by Alan Boyle on July 1, 2016July 1, 2016 at 2:45 pm1 Comment

Almost a year after New Horizons’ unprecedented flyby of Pluto, NASA has given the official go-ahead for the probe to fly past another icy object in the Kuiper Belt in… Read More

Dwarf planet Ceres’ mysterious bright spot hints at upwelling of salty water

by Alan Boyle on June 29, 2016June 29, 2016 at 7:38 pm1 Comment

Scientists say the brightest spot on surface of the dwarf planet Ceres has the highest concentration of carbonate minerals they’ve ever seen beyond Earth – and that suggests that liquid water welled up… Read More

Dwarf planet Ceres’ mystery bright spots get their close-up from Dawn probe

by Alan Boyle on March 22, 2016March 22, 2016 at 1:05 pm1 Comment

The scientists behind NASA’s Dawn mission today showed off their latest, greatest pictures of the dwarf planet Ceres, including close-up views of curious bright spots on the surface. The car-sized Dawn… Read More

Dawn’s latest close-ups should shed more light on Ceres’ mysterious bright spots

by Alan Boyle on January 13, 2016January 13, 2016 at 10:34 am 2 Comments

For years, scientists puzzled over the bright spots that shine like alien headlights from the surface of Ceres, a dwarf planet in the main asteroid belt. Scientists are leaning toward identifying… Read More

Ceres as you’ve never seen it before: NASA’s Dawn orbiter delivers closest close-ups of dwarf planet

by Alan Boyle on December 22, 2015December 22, 2015 at 4:29 pmComment

Earlier this month we started seeing some of the closest views yet of Pluto, and now it’s time for close-ups from a closer dwarf planet: Ceres. NASA’s Dawn orbiter has begun delivering pictures… Read More

Those mysterious bright spots on Ceres? Probably salty ice, scientists say

by Alan Boyle on December 9, 2015December 9, 2015 at 3:02 pmComment

For months, scientists have puzzled over weirdly bright spots of material shining on the asteroid Ceres, but now they say the spots are probably made of salty ice. That determination, based on… Read More

Dwarf planet Ceres’ puzzling ‘pyramid’ mountain gets close-up from NASA’s Dawn probe

by Alan Boyle on August 25, 2015August 25, 2015 at 7:29 pm1 Comment

NASA’s mission to that other dwarf planet, Ceres, has delivered a fresh bird’s-eye view of one of the asteroid’s most mysterious features: a cone-shaped, 4-mile-high “pyramid” mountain whose sides are covered with… Read More

After 3.1 billion miles and 7.5 years, NASA’s Dawn probe reaches dwarf planet Ceres

by Molly Brown on March 6, 2015March 6, 2015 at 8:38 amComment

Talk about an incredible journey. The Dawn probe, which was launched in 2007, made it into dwarf planet Ceres’ orbit this a.m. NASA reported that Dawn made it to Ceres… Read More