Nasa's Dawn throws light on giant bright spots on Ceres
by Ian Sample Science editor from on (#X5ZV)
Fresh images from Nasa's probe reveal sparkly patches on dwarf planet likely to be water vapour emanating from subsurface ice
When Nasa's Dawn spacecraft reached the largest object in the asteroid belt earlier this year, mission scientists were baffled to find that the alien terrain gleamed with giant bright spots.
The glinting patches on the surface of Ceres sparked an intense debate among astronomers who could not work out if the shiny material was frozen water, reflective salt deposits, or even geysers blasting water vapour into space.
