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The isolated mountain of Ceres, Ahuna Mons, is seen in this simulated perspective view based on data from NASA's Dawn probe. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA | Complete picture and legend>
A study involving scientists from the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Sapienza Università di Roma in Rome, Italy, has now allowed to solve the mystery of the gigantic volcanic dome of Ceres, Ahuna Mons was formed. Using gravity measurements obtained by NASA's Dawn mission, the authors showed that an ascending plume composed of a mixture of salt water and rocks raised from the dwarf planet. Once this material surfaced, it formed a mountain 4 km high and 17 km wide. This process occurred in Ceres at very cold temperatures, probably below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius), it is similar to magma plumes forming volcanoes on Earth.
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