The results of a new study by researchers at the Planetary Science Institute in the United States confirm that the outer crust of Ceres is rich in ice: ice has survived in the shallow subsurface of the dwarf planet for approximately 20 million years since. to the formation of the Occator crater.
Precisely, anomalies in the distribution of hydrogen in this crater have revealed the presence of an icy crust on the planet Ceres. As an ocean world, Ceres could be habitable and, therefore, it is an attractive target for future missions. The research was recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
The strange dwarf planet
Ceres It is considered the largest astronomical object in the asteroid belt, a region of the Solar System that lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Discovered on January 1, 1801, it has a diameter of 945 kilometers and a radius of 473 kilometers. Its conditions and location make it impossible for it to be observed with the naked eye from Earth, with the exception of some very special occasions.
Inside, Ceres would have a rocky core and an ice sheet: astronomers believe that under this frozen layer there is an ocean. Meanwhile, its surface is made up of a combination of ice and multiple hydrated minerals. Have been detected water vapor emissions in different areas of Ceres.
Ceres is a dwarf planet According to a set of characteristics defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2006, from which Pluto ceased to be considered a planet to be classified as a dwarf planet and Ceres, formerly defined as an asteroid, passed to the category dwarf planet.
A dwarf planet has enough mass for its own gravity to overcome the force of a rigid body, thus achieving a hydrostatic balance and having an almost spherical shape. Furthermore, it is not a satellite of a planet or other body and shares the vicinity of the area it orbits with other objects.
Related topic: They find water on Ceres, the dwarf planet located between Mars and Jupiter.
A unique star that could be habitable
According to a Press release, the data provided by the gamma ray and neutron detector (GRaND), which is on board NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, confirm the presence of ice on the crust of Ceres. It was this instrument that detected the high concentrations of hydrogen on the surface of Occator, a huge young crater with a diameter of 92 kilometers, equivalent to almost 10% of the total diameter of the dwarf planet.
The scientists explained that the similarities between the global distribution of hydrogen and the pattern observed in large craters allow them to conclude that the impact processes that Ceres has suffered, numerous and powerful depending on the area in which it is found, have brought ice to its place. surface, even in other parts of the dwarf planet.
The discovery reaffirms that Ceres is a star with special characteristics of its kind: on the mysterious dwarf planet, the ice separates from the rock to form an icy outer layer and an ocean located below it. However, many smaller, water-rich bodies may have similar conditions.
Based on this, specialists believe that the discoveries made in Ceres could have implications in the study of the evolution of frozen bodies with similar characteristics. In the same sense, the existence of ice in the crust of Ceres indicates that it could be habitable, although it will be the objective of future research to determine the conditions: will the dwarf planet be the strategic point of future missions undertaken by the great space powers?
Reference
Replenishment of Near & dash; Surface Water Ice by Impacts Into Ceres’ Volatile & dash; Rich Crust: Observations by Dawn’s Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector. TH Prettyman et al. Geophysical Research Letters (2021) .DOI: https: //doi.org/10.1029/2021GL094223
Photo: the dwarf planet Ceres, which could be the target of upcoming space missions. Credit: NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Video: Planetary Science Institute on YouTube.