Scientists have “upgraded” salt in the craters of Ceres – N + 1

Crater Okkator

Image: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / PSI / LPI

According to the latest data obtained by the spacecraft of Dawn, bright spots, located in the crater Okkator on Ceres surface formed from a liquid “brine” and are composed mainly of sodium carbonate, and the subsurface layer only a third of the planet is composed of ice. It is reported by the blog’s mission at NASA; dedicated to this research article published ^{[1, 2]} in Nature and Nature Geoscience .

Previously, scientists assumed that these spots composed of different crystalline hydrates of magnesium sulfate, but these data were not confirmed. Researchers have identified the chemical composition by spectrophotometry in the visible and near infrared region: stains consist primarily of sodium carbonate with small amounts of silicate and carbonate, and ammonium chloride. As one of the versions of the scientists suggest that these spots were formed during crystallization from a liquid “brine”, formed as a result of the shock heating of subsurface material.

The researchers also conducted a simulation of the formation of craters on the dwarf planet. According to these studies, the depth of craters on Ceres changes little over time, which is not typical for the planet, which is a subsurface layer of ice. Considering the high temperature in the world (about 150 Kelvin, which is about 50 degrees higher than in Europe) on Ceres were observed geological processes “smoothing” craters, certificates are not detected. Researchers believe that this may indicate that the subsurface layer only 30-40 percent water, and the remaining 60-70 account for various low-density rock salt (sodium carbonates and silicates) and clathrates.

Dawn spacecraft was launched on September 27, 2007. In August 2011, the station went into orbit around the asteroid Vesta, where she worked until August 2012. In March 2015 the unit came to the dwarf planet Ceres, which explores the hitherto; at the moment the decision on the final goal of the mission is not accepted (the device can either remain constant companion of Ceres, and the use of fuel residues to travel to the third asteroid).

Evgeniy Anokhin