interplanetary probes NASA Dawn (“Dawn” or “Dawn”) on Friday completed his eight-year journey to the dwarf planet Ceres solar system, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and went on its orbit, becoming the first spacecraft delivered the orbit of the dwarf planet, according to the online NASA.
On the eve of the unit gave the first images of Ceres, taken from a height of 46 thousand. Km. They are clearly visible cratered surface of a celestial body. Scientists have discovered with the help of two very bright Dawn spots on Ceres, the nature of which they can not explain, but it is thought that this may be ice. Dawn mission in orbit of Ceres is designed for 16 months.
“The study Ceres allow us to historical research, to understand what was the solar system at an early stage of its development”, – said the director of NASA’s planetary research Jim Green. According to him, the data that scientists will get help to understand how our planetary system formed. However, some scientists do not rule out that beneath the surface may be frozen ocean.
US probe Dawn, launched by NASA in late September 2007, became the first spacecraft, which studied the one heavenly body – Vesta , one of the largest asteroids, descended from its orbit after a year and went to another – Ceres closest to the Earth dwarf planet.
Ceres – the dwarf planet with a diameter of 950 kilometers. The planet’s surface is probably covered with ice. Asteroid Vesta – the second largest body in the asteroid belt after Ceres. Unlike Ceres, an asteroid is no water. According to NASA, the study Ceres and Vesta will help to understand how the solar system originated. These bodies at the agency called the building blocks from which emerged Venus, Earth and Mars: body type Vesta greatly contributed to the formation of the Earth’s core, and thanks to bodies like Ceres in the world, perhaps there was water.
Ceres was the first of two dwarf planets, which this year come away from the Earth. In the summer of another ship NASA, New Horizons (“New Horizons”), is expected to reach Pluto. In mid-January, New Horizons began the first phase of the study of this planet. Images of Pluto, Charon, and their immediate surroundings will help engineers to pave a path for New Horizons, which also will allow him to bypass the “minefield” of the orbit of Pluto mikroasteroidov and get the highest quality images and scientific data in July this year, when the probe closer to the planets on the minimum distance.
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