Image: PIA19578-Ceres-DwarfPlanet-Dawn-2ndMappingOrbit-image10-20150614

Description: PIA19578: Dawn Survey Orbit Image 10 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19578 This image, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows an intriguing mountain on dwarf planet Ceres protruding from a relatively smooth area. Scientists estimate that this structure rises about 3 miles (5 kilometers) above the surface. Dawn captured this image from an altitude of 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers). The image, with a resolution of 1,400 feet (410 meters) per pixel, was taken on June 14, 2015. Dawn's mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK, Inc., in Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team. For a complete list of acknowledgments, see http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission. For more information about the Dawn mission, visit http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: NASA - Astronomy Picture of the Day - June 30, 2015 http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150630.html An Unusual Mountain on Asteroid Ceres Explanation: What created this large mountain on asteroid Ceres? No one is yet sure. As if in anticipation of today being Asteroid Day on Earth, the robotic spacecraft Dawn in orbit around Ceres took the best yet image of an unusually tall mountain on the Asteroid Belt's largest asteroid. Visible at the top of the featured image, the exceptional mountain rises about five kilometers up from an area that otherwise appears pretty level. The image was taken about two weeks ago from about 4,400 kilometers away. Although origin hypotheses for the mountain include volcanism, impacts, and plate tectonics, clear evidence backing any of these is currently lacking. Also visible across Ceres' surface are some enigmatic light areas: bright spots whose origin and composition that also remain an active topic of investigation. Even though Dawn is expected to continue to orbit Ceres, officially dubbed a dwarf planet, for millions of years, the hydrazine fuel used to point Dawn's communications antenna toward Earth is expected to run out sometime next year.
Title: PIA19578-Ceres-DwarfPlanet-Dawn-2ndMappingOrbit-image10-20150614
Credit: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA19578.jpg
Author: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No