Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Science
Related: About this forumIce volcano activity on Ceres never froze
Nature Astronomy
September 18, 2018
Nature Astronomy
Ice volcanoes have erupted throughout the history of the dwarf planet Ceres, reports a study published online this week in Nature Astronomy. However, such continuous activity has not had the same extensive impact on Ceress surface as standard volcanism on Earth.
Instead of spewing molten rock, so-called cryovolcanoes erupt liquid or gaseous volatiles such as ammonia, water or methane. Traces of cryovolcanism have been found on several bodies in the outer Solar System. In 2015, NASAs Dawn spacecraft orbiting Ceres discovered a dome-shaped mountain - dubbed Ahuna Mons - which was identified as a cryovolcano. However, no similar structures have been spotted on Ceres.
Based on the assumption that the icy volcanic domes gradually settle down, ultimately blending with the surrounding landscape, Michael Sori and colleagues use models of relaxing dome shapes to identify 22 former cryovolcanoes on Ceres in images taken by the Dawn mission. The authors estimate the age of these features, and find that in the last billion years, new cryovolcanoes have appeared on Ceres around every 50 million years on average.
The authors also estimate that the total amount of icy material that has been erupted onto the surface of Ceres is one hundred to one hundred-thousand times less than the volumes of molten rock erupted on the Earth, Moon, Venus or Mars.
http://www.natureasia.com/en/research/highlight/12690
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 581 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (3)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Ice volcano activity on Ceres never froze (Original Post)
Judi Lynn
Sep 2018
OP
Impressive image. Intriguing. It will be so regrettable when the mission ends.
Judi Lynn
Sep 2018
#2
Princess Turandot
(4,787 posts)1. Here is Ahuna Mons in the Google Space Maps: Ceres Maps
It's the shiny object in the middle, near a large crater. https://goo.gl/HY6Y27
Here's a nice snap of it on the JPL Photo-Journal website
I don't know if it's been mentioned here, but NASA recently announced that the Dawn mission will be coming to an end by the end of this October. Dawn will still orbit Ceres, but the chemical used by the craft to send data to Earth is almost fully depleted. Once it's gone, the transmissions are done. It's been a complete success mission-wise, of course, and was extended several times beyond its original timeline, but it's always a bit bittersweet when the missions end.
Judi Lynn
(160,542 posts)2. Impressive image. Intriguing. It will be so regrettable when the mission ends.
There's so much to learn ahead.
Thank you for the image, and the information.