Close-Up Flyover Of The Mysterious Bright Spots On Ceres

a reply to: nataylor

So if it is diffuse reflection of light of off a bright surface then why is this a mystery? Why is it not a common occurance?

a reply to: ForestDweller

Again, what the project scientists find mysterious is that Ceres has these highly reflective spots on it. They want to figure out what makes these spots so reflective compared to the rest of Ceres' surface.

a reply to: Blue Shift

"Nonsense" me, will you?

No you guys are both right about the diffuse lighting. I thought you were talking about different angles of the surface, like mountain ridges for instance but you are talking about the surface of the surface, if that makes sense.

originally posted by: nataylor
a reply to: ForestDweller

Again, what the project scientists find mysterious is that Ceres has these highly reflective spots on it. They want to figure out what makes these spots so reflective compared to the rest of Ceres' surface.

It is an assumption to say that these spots are reflecting light and not emitting it, and vice versa.(I know I stated that they were emitting light myself)

Are there any examples of similar bright spots on heavenly bodies?

Are these spots made up out of a yet unknown natural material that is more reflective than anything else we've ever seen? I mean if it is snow, ice or salt planes then we would have seen this before.

You cannot rule out the possibility that they are emitting their own light.

a reply to: ForestDweller

Here you go, a video that clearly shows the bright spots brightening as they rotate from darkness into the sun:

a reply to: ForestDweller

The bright spot has not been observed on Ceres' night side, therefore it's only visible when it reflects light.

I don't think there's a known equivalent of such a bright spot elsewhere in the Solar System, but the Moon does have many brighter areas where fresh material has been exposed in impacts.

a reply to: wildespace

The bright spot has not been observed on Ceres' night side, therefore it's only visible when it reflects light.

I was not aware of this. If this is true you are obviously right.

Link?

a reply to: wildespace
This image seems to show a line, a crater chain perhaps, going from the lit crater to a brighter spot at lower right.
www.thunderbolts.info...
If the bright spots are not visible when on the dark side, then they still might be electrical in nature, as when solar radiation is hitting the surface it will become charged, as does the lunar surface.
The big hex crater smacks of electrical formation, and all the craters really, as there seem to be no ejecta material.

originally posted by: GaryN
a reply to: wildespace
This image seems to show a line, a crater chain perhaps, going from the lit crater to a brighter spot at lower right.
www.thunderbolts.info...

It's a very long fault line, it goes directly over the bright spot and seems to continue beyond: www.unmannedspaceflight.com...

It's possible that the appearance of this very reflective material (in the aftermath of an impact that formed that crater, as I believe) is due to that fault line.

If the bright spots are not visible when on the dark side, then they still might be electrical in nature, as when solar radiation is hitting the surface it will become charged, as does the lunar surface.

Then why doesn't the lunar surface have such bright spots. And what exactly would this charged surface discharge into?

~~~

Interestingly, the latest image, taken at the best resolution yet, doesn't show the white spot: photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov...
Perhaps they saw some detail in there, and are reserving it for the science teams involved with the mission.

a reply to: wildespace

It's a very long fault line,

I think it will resolve to a crater chain, thought to be from the collapse of volcanic lava tubes by mainstream, and an electrical discharge skipping over the surface by the EU side.

Then why doesn't the lunar surface have such bright spots.

There are the transient lunar phenomena, impacts by mainstream, discharges by EU. And perhaps at certain wavelengths, there are glow mode discharges on the Moon. Aristarchus crater seemed to be glowing in some of the images from Lunar orbit, as did the astronauts themselves in a couple of surface images.

And what exactly would this charged surface discharge into?

It seems that planets, moons and perhaps comets are a good source of free electrons, so when the ionisation of their atmospheres becomes strong enough, there is a discharge, a double layer breakdown. We have sprites in Earths upper atmosphere, lightning lower down. There have also been glow mode, rather than arc mode discharges imaged that touch down on mountain tops, and can glow for quite a while. Mostly seen in UV, but I don't know too much about the framing camera on Dawn, I think it's more sensitive to IR than UV, but there could be emissions that the camera is sensitive to in the IR or visible range, depending on the ionisation levels and the composition of the elements on or close to close the surface. Anyway, Ceres might be a good test case for determining if electrical/plasma processes are as common in space as they are on/around Earth.

originally posted by: nataylor
a reply to: ForestDweller

Here you go, a video that clearly shows the bright spots brightening as they rotate from darkness into the sun:

That does not prove the light is being reflected. Perhaps the crater contains material that becomes fluorescent only when it is heated up - like when the Sun rises above the horizon of Ceres.

Stop jumping to the conclusions you want. Science has to consider ALL possible explanations, so that it can eliminate all but one.

originally posted by: micpsi

That does not prove the light is being reflected. Perhaps the crater contains material that becomes fluorescent only when it is heated up - like when the Sun rises above the horizon of Ceres.

Stop jumping to the conclusions you want. Science has to consider ALL possible explanations, so that it can eliminate all but one.

Maybe it's a herd of black-bellied unicorns that sleep on their back and turn over when the sun rises.

Of course, the most logical thing to do is to consider the most likely scenario first. If there is some data that contradicts the fact it's just a reflection,, then you can consider other options. To start with the most unlikely scenario first is silly. Even worse is to consider all scenarios as equally likely.

a reply to: micpsi

I had never heard of there being so much fluorescent materia that glows so brightly on any object in the Solar System. On the other hand, there's plenty highly reflective material freshly exposed through impacts or other processes, such as bright areas on the Moon.

We're all still guessing at this point, but the most likely guesses are the most solid. NASA scientists made a consensus that it's a reflective material, and I see no reason to doubt them.