NASA’s Dawn space apparatus is monopolizing the spotlight after voyaging billions of kilometers. Presently it is at a short distance from dwarf planet Pluto and managed to catch the highest resolution images of Ceres. Despite the fact that it is still weeks before it really reaches Pluto’s orbit, the NASA space shuttle has already begun dispatching photos of the tiny planet. Subsequently, while traveling towards a planet that is still a mystery to scientists, Dawn has likewise caught what seem to be the clearest pictures of Ceres until now.
NASA representatives noted that the images depicting Ceres were taken a couple of days back on February fourth. They explained that at the time of taking the photos, the spacecraft was still 90,000 miles from its terminus stop. According to reports, the Dawn space shuttle will enter the orbit of the biggest cosmic body in the our planetary system’s asteroid belt in early March, making it the first to get to Ceres so far.
Discussing the most recent advancement Marc Rayman, the top engineer and mission executive for Dawn, claimed that his group of space experts are super-energized by the thought of the probe touching base at Ceres. It comes without saying that the world knows close to nothing about the special small planet. Rayman added that the Dawn mission is the first genuine push to get an up close look at the 590 mile wide planetoid. According to NASA data, a dwarf planet circles the sun much the same as different planets. A dwarf planet is so little it can’t push out of its way other objects.
Ceres that is located in the asteroid belts between Mars and Jupiter is one of the first targets of the nine-year Dawn mission. The spacecraft had likewise flown by Mars and went to the space rock Vesta and now will reach Ceres for a 16-month investigation of the cosmic body.
NASA reported the photographs have a resolution of 8.5 miles per pixel, the most-nitty gritty snaps of Ceres to date. The shuttle is set to keep examining Ceres through the end of its initial mission in July. The mission is a joint venture between NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Germany’s Max Planck Institute and the Italian Space Agency.
The release of the Ceres shots comes just as an alternate prominent mission, the New Horizons is nearing its target, Pluto, now downgraded to dwarf planet, after being considered a regular smaller planet.
Image Source: NASA
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