Dwarf Planet Ceres Once Hosted a Muddy Ocean Below Its Icy Surface 6b6e11 Technology News

New studies reveal that the dwarf planet Ceres may have once contained a muddy ocean beneath its surface. a214x

Written by Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 8 October 2024 21:45 IST

Dwarf Planet Ceres Once Hosted a Muddy Ocean Below Its Icy Surface

Photo Credit: NASA 6t6r3f

An image of the dwarf planet Ceres captured by NASA's Dawn mission.

Highlights

Ceres may have had a muddy ocean beneath its icy crust
Surface features suggest ice-rich environment on Ceres
Ceres offers an accessible opportunity for ocean studies

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Recent studies suggest that the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, may have once contained a muddy ocean beneath its surface. This new understanding emerges from advanced computer models indicating that Ceres' outer crust is likely composed of a frozen ocean rich in impurities.

Surface Features Indicating Ice Presence 321t4h

NASA's Dawn mission, which provided extensive observations of Ceres between 2015 and 2018.

Observations from NASA's Dawn Mission 372o1f

One key observation from the Dawn mission was the prevalence of distinct craters with steep walls, which typically indicate a less ice-rich environment. On icy ocean worlds like Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede, large craters are fewer because ice can flow and soften over time, rendering craters less pronounced. However, Ceres exhibited numerous deep craters, leading researchers to conclude that its crust was not as icy as initially thought.

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Simulations to Understand Crater Behaviour 3w1x67

To investigate this further, Pamerleau, alongside his Ph.D. supervisor Mike Sori and Jennifer Scully from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, conducted simulations to examine how Ceres' craters would evolve over billions of years with varying proportions of ice, dust, and rock. Their findings suggested that a crust composed of approximately 90% ice would not be stable enough to allow for significant flow, thus preserving the craters.

The Implications of Ceres' Oceanic Past 2a274k

Mike Sori remarked that Ceres likely once resembled an ocean world similar to Europa but with a “dirty, muddy ocean.” As the ocean froze, it formed an icy crust containing trapped rocky material. Researchers are particularly interested in determining how long this ocean may have existed, as heat from radioactive isotopes could have prolonged its liquid state after Ceres cooled.

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