Scientists say Ceres is 'ocean world' with big reservoir of salty

The dwarf planet named Ceres which was believed to be a barren space rock, is an ocean world with reservoirs of sea water right beneath its surface. According to a major exploration mission, Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Also, it has its own gravity. This enabled the NASA Dawn spacecraft to capture high resolution images of its surface.

Ceres with water reservoirs

According to reports, a team of scientists from the United States and Europe have analysed these images which were captured around 35kms away from the asteroid. Focussing on the Occator crater, the scientists came to the conclusion that there is an "extensive reservoir" of brine beneath its surface. The Occator is considered to be 20 million years old. 

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Reports suggest that the dwarf planet was discovered by Italian polymath Giuseppe Piazzi in 1801. Several studies published in the journals Nature Astronomy, Nature Geoscience and Nature Communications have given importance to this planet. A team of scientists have also discovered the presence of the compound hydrohalite, which has never been found on earth. 

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Maria Cristina De Sanctis, from Rome's Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, said "We can now say that Ceres is a sort of ocean world, as are some of Saturn's and Jupiter's moons.The material found on Ceres is extremely important in terms of astrobiology”. She added, “We know that these minerals are all essential for the emergence of life”. According to reports, the team said that the salt deposits look like they were built two million year back. In a different US based paper, where researchers analysed the picture of Occator, they came to the conclusion that its mounds and hills may have formed when water ejected by the impact of a meteor froze on the surface.

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(Image Credits: NASA)