I thought at first they were volcanic. Why don’t they show up in the dark? Are they just super reflective?
I think they are relatively bright, not as bright as the pictures imply. But still interesting as hell. I can’t wait for close ups.
Every time I see a NASA headline anymore, I initially think it says NSA. I keep thinking, “great, now the NSA is trying to record alien phone calls too!”
Required:
Ceres White Spot is really a mystery and in future a space mission is needed to explore the white spot. But until then we don’t know what is it.
Windows, obviously.
Bingo. The average albedo of Ceres is 9% - about equal to asphalt. In contrast (literally!), the white spots are at least 40%, equivalent to desert sand. In order to get a good overall view of the asteroid, Dawn has to crank up its camera sensitivity; once it settles down into its mapping orbit, close-up pictures of the spots will be taken to get a better idea of what exactly they are.
Astronomers now know a lot more about the composition of Ceres:
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