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Ceres is the largest object of Asteroid belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter. In a new study, scientists suggest this dwarf planet contains a large mass of salt water below its cold surface.
Researchers describe Ceres as an “ocean world” – a place that might have the right conditions to support living organisms.
The study was published earlier this month in the publications Nature astronomy, Geoscience of nature and Communications of nature.
The research is based on data collected by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, which flew as close as 35 kilometers to the surface of Ceres in 2018. The study provides evidence that the dwarf planet remains geologically active with cryovolcanism – volcanoes that produce icy material.
Scientists say their findings confirm the presence of a tank of salt water below the surface which freezes slowly. Carol Raymond, a planet specialist and principal investigator for Dawn, told Reuters news agency that it is this discovery that makes Ceres an oceanic world, even though the liquid does not cover the entire dwarf planet.
“In the case of Ceres, we know that the liquid reservoir is regional scale but we cannot say for sure that it is global. However, what matters most is that there is liquid on a large scale, ”Raymond said.
Ceres is approximately 950 kilometers away. The scientists focused their work on a land 92 kilometers wide crater formed when a large object struck Ceres about 22 million years ago. The crater has two bright areas caused by collections of salt from liquid that has reached the surface.
Scientists say the liquid started in a saltwater reservoir hundreds of kilometers wide about 40 kilometers below the surface. When the large object crashed into Ceres, ruptures on the surface of the dwarf planet created openings for salt water to escape.
There are several other bodies in the solar system beyond Earth where there at least appear to be oceans below the surface. These include Jupiter’s moon Europa, Saturn’s moon Enceladus, Neptune’s moon Triton, and the dwarf planet Pluto.
Water is considered a major necessity for life. Scientists want to know if Ceres has ever been home microbial life.
Planetologist Julie Castillo of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said there was major interest at this point in examining the possibility of life in the Cerer reservoir. This is especially true “given that it is cold and enough rich in salts, ”she added.
I am Pete Musto.
Will Dunham reported this story to the Reuters news service. Pete Musto for VOA Learn English. Bryan Lynn was the editor.
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Words in this story
Asteroid belt – not. a gathering of one of the thousands of small planets that revolve around the sun
dwarf planet – not. an object in space that looks like a small planet but lacks certain technical qualities required to be classified as such
geologically – adv. in a way that relates to rocks, land or land-forming processes
tank – not. a place where a liquid is stored
regional – adj. a part of a country or world that is different or separated from other parts in some way
ladder – not. the size or level of something especially in relation to something else
global – adj. involving the whole world
crater – not. a large round hole in the ground made by a bomb explosion or something falling from the sky
microbial – adj. an extremely small living being that can only be seen under a microscope
enough – adv. to a very significant degree or extent
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