NASA's Dawn spacecraft has taken what are believed to be the clearest images of Ceres' surface. The images, taken between May 3 and 4, have revealed that the bright spots are made up of a cluster of smaller spots. What the spots are exactly and what they are made of is still unknown.

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The bright spots that appear on a crater of Ceres' northern hemisphere have puzzled researchers since NASA has commissioned Dawn to orbit the dwarf planet.  Some scientists have believed that these bright spots were formed by ice that has built up on Ceres' surface.

As reported in The Science Times, the University of California, Los Angeles' Christopher Russell, said that, "Dawn scientists can now conclude that the intense brightness of these spots is due to the reflection of sunlight by highly reflective material on the surface, possibly ice." It took the spacecraft fifteen days to map Ceres' orbit.

A second mapping, to be done by the spacecraft on June 06, will take it closer to the dwarf planet's surface enabling it to get a comprehensive map of Ceres' surface. This will aid in determining Ceres' geologic history. A close-range mapping will enable Dawn to check if the planet is "geologically active," writes The Science Times' Brian Wu. This second mapping will have Dawn circle the dwarf planet every three days from the height of 2,700 miles, or 4,400 kilometers, which will be "three times closer than the previous orbit," according to a press release by NASA.

NASA has stated that the Dawn spacecraft "has become the first mission to orbit around a dwarf planet". Aside from being the first to orbit a dwarf planet, Dawn is also known for being the first mission to orbit two extraterrestrial points.

These mappings, and the images taken by Dawn, will enable scientists to find out more about this dwarf planet which was discovered in 1801. During that period, it was first identified as a planet, then as an asteroid. Only in more recent times has it been recognized as a dwarf planet.

TagsNASA, Dawn Spacecraft, Ceres, The Science Times