Bright spots on dwarf planet Ceres, what is it?

[HammerTime]

It's a body that meets some -- but not all -- of the criteria for being designated a planet. Ceres, like the recently re-designated Pluto, orbits the sun and has its forces in the appropriate equilibrium to hold the body together. However, it has not "cleared the neighborhood" which is the euphemism for being the only body in its particular orbit using its own mass to either eject or absorb the other bodies. It's why things in the asteroid belt aren't categorized as planets; too many other things that no body has as yet been large enough to get rid of.

Nerd!! No, I'm just kidding. That's pretty cool. I want them to find another planet like ours in my lifetime.

[Getslow]

Nerd!! No, I'm just kidding. That's pretty cool. I want them to find another planet like ours in my lifetime.

 

I do too. And the rate at which they're finding exoplanets recently has absolutely blown me away. Mathematically we knew they were most likely out there, but the technology to not only observe them via solar transit but then actually have the instruments to examine their atmospheres from tremendous distances is just remarkable.

Edited February 26, 2015 by Getslow

[Getslow]

Speaking of exoplanets, anytime I read about them it makes me think of one of my favorite topics in science fiction stories: the generation ship. If anyone's ever read Ursula LeGuin's "The Birthday of the World", it's probably my favorite story about them ever. The idea is that given the time necessary (using current space travel speeds) to reach a planet outside our own solar system, we'd have to build a MASSIVE ship capable of housing not only the astronauts on board at the time of departure, but the future generations born during the voyage that would carry on the mission across the decades and centuries. I've always thought it was a cool idea.

[BigVMan23]

Maybe it just got so excited it couldn't hold it any longer?:idunno:

[SportsGuy41017]

It's a body that meets some -- but not all -- of the criteria for being designated a planet. Ceres, like the recently re-designated Pluto, orbits the sun and has its forces in the appropriate equilibrium to hold the body together. However, it has not "cleared the neighborhood" which is the euphemism for being the only body in its particular orbit using its own mass to either eject or absorb the other bodies. It's why things in the asteroid belt aren't categorized as planets; too many other things that no body has as yet been large enough to get rid of.

 

But if Earth was out there, it wouldn't have enough to clear a path either correct? I'll have to check when I get to my PC, I thought I read that and they mentioned Ceres or Pluto.

[Getslow]

But if Earth was out there, it wouldn't have enough to clear a path either correct? I'll have to check when I get to my PC, I thought it said Ceres or Pluto.

 

It isn't whether an object does or does not have the requisite mass, it's whether that body at the current time has cleared out the other objects in its orbital path. Pluto had failed to do so, which was why the IAU re-designated it a dwarf a few years ago.

[Bluegrasscard]

I'll guess water.

 

Man I hope so. What a big moment that would be.

 

Where there is a star - there is water.

 

Starwater....

 

http://www.zengardner.com/starwater-and-noctilucent-clouds/

 

Solar Wind Creates Water in Star Dust, Implications for Life

 

 

Not having water would be something unusual.

[SportsGuy41017]

It isn't whether an object does or does not have the requisite mass, it's whether that body at the current time has cleared out the other objects in its orbital path. Pluto had failed to do so, which was why the IAU re-designated it a dwarf a few years ago.

 

So, if we were in the place of Ceres, or we had objects all around our path where we are now, then we wouldn't be a planet? I know that some scientist don't agree with the IAU.

[theguru]

Speaking of exoplanets, anytime I read about them it makes me think of one of my favorite topics in science fiction stories: the generation ship. If anyone's ever read Ursula LeGuin's "The Birthday of the World", it's probably my favorite story about them ever. The idea is that given the time necessary (using current space travel speeds) to reach a planet outside our own solar system, we'd have to build a MASSIVE ship capable of housing not only the astronauts on board at the time of departure, but the future generations born during the voyage that would carry on the mission across the decades and centuries. I've always thought it was a cool idea.

 

We may have discussed this when it was on but that was the idea behind the mini-series on SyFy called Ascension. It started out good and went downhill.

 

Ascension ? Show | Syfy

[swamprat]

So we're claiming to see 2 lights on a dwarf planet through a camera 29,000 miles away from it, which is millions of miles from us. Yet, the dress is either blue and black or it is gold and white.

[theguru]

And I think this is addition here, Ceres orbits the (our) sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter about 257 million miles from the sun. As our resident genius said, Earth orbits about 93 million miles from the sun, Mars 140 million miles from the sun and Jupiter about 483 million miles from the sun.

[Getslow]

So we're claiming to see 2 lights on a dwarf planet through a camera 29,000 miles away from it, which is millions of miles from us. Yet, the dress is either blue and black or it is gold and white.

 

:lol2: After that nonsense last night, I definitely trust the instruments on the Dawn orbiter more than my own dumb eyeballs.

[swamprat]

:lol2: After that nonsense last night, I definitely trust the instruments on the Dawn orbiter more than my own dumb eyeballs.

 

An electronically transmitted digital representation of a picture taken by a digital camera viewed on a computer monitor, is an electronically transmitted digital representation of a picture taken by a digital camera viewed on a computer monitor.

 

Ain't it?

[Getslow]

An electronically transmitted digital representation of a picture taken by a digital camera viewed on a computer monitor, is an electronically transmitted digital representation of a picture taken by a digital camera viewed on a computer monitor.

 

Ain't it?

 

I'm done using my eyeballs. Dawn has visible and infrared spectrometers. I'm gonna let the readings tell me what it is and I'm just going to believe it. :lol2: