Dawn identifies age of Ceres' brightest area
Wednesday, March 8, 2017 - 16:51
in Astronomy & Space
The bright central area of Ceres' Occator Crater, known as Cerealia Facula, is approximately 30 million years younger than the crater in which it lies, according to a new study in the Astronomical Journal. Scientists used data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft to analyze Occator's central dome in detail, concluding that this intriguing bright feature on the dwarf planet is only about 4 million years old—quite recent in terms of geological history.