10.12.2015, 21:44
The mysterious white spots on the surface of Ceres consists of hydrated magnesium sulfate – powder that is used to create medical baths. An article on the published in the journal Nature .
Ceres is the closest to the Sun and the smallest dwarf planet of the solar system, located in the main asteroid belt. In March 2015 space probe Dawn has entered the orbit of Ceres. Soon we received the first high-quality images unexplained white spots on its surface. Since the nature of these spots was the subject of the discussion. There are two main hypotheses about the composition of stains: water-ice and salt deposits.
In their work the researchers used data spectrometers installed on interplanetary probe Dawn. Analysis of the data confirmed the hypothesis of the salt composition of the white areas. In addition, scientists have found that on the surface of the dwarf planet is a lot of special mineral species – ammonia phyllosilicate. This means that ammonia is included in the composition of the planet as an organic substance or ice, can interact with the clays Ceres in the process of its formation.
Ammonia ice is stable only at low temperatures at the periphery of the solar system. So far formed a Ceres the asteroid belt, or ammonia appeared on the surface as a result of collisions with cosmic bodies from the distant regions of the solar system.
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