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The Dawn spacecraft has found evidence of magnesium sulphate (epsom salts) on Ceres, causing the mysterious bright spots:
The US space agency's Dawn satellite continues to return remarkable images from the dwarf planet Ceres. Now just 385km above the surface (lower than the space station is above Earth), the probe has revealed new features inside the mini-world's Occator Crater. This is the 92km-wide depression that has multiple bright spots of what are thought to be exposed salts.
[...] "The intricate geometry of the crater interior suggests geologic activity in the recent past, but we will need to complete detailed geologic mapping of the crater in order to test hypotheses for its formation." Scientists think the bright spots are deposits of epsom salts (magnesium sulphate), the trace remains of briny water-ice that at one time became exposed on the surface.
With no atmosphere on the dwarf planet, the water content would have rapidly vaporised, leaving only the magnesium sulphate spots. Ceres likely has quite a lot of buried water-ice. This idea is being investigated by the satellite's GRaND instrument, which senses neutrons and gamma rays produced by cosmic ray interactions with surface materials. It is a means to understand the chemistry of the top metre or so of Ceres' rocky "soil".
Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday March 23 2016, @07:06PM
With all the stuff that "vaporizes" into space, I ain't getting into a near-lightspeed ship until we actually invent those sci-fi shields. You can take my seat to Proxima Centauri.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 23 2016, @08:29PM
I'll take the warped space method that actually seems feasible, though not 100% sure whether it's susceptible to small interstellar collisions or just significantly gravitational ones.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Fluffeh on Wednesday March 23 2016, @09:32PM
From what I understand of the theory, the a ship in a warped space bubble-thing wouldn't impact any particles at any higher velocity than if it wasn't in the warp. That's the freaky thing with the whole concept of the warp space drive. The ship isn't actually travelling "faster" than it can accelerate to via normal propulsion, but the warp makes it travel in less time, not faster (which I totally get sounds to be a oxymoron, but really, it isn't). So, even though the apparent velocity of the ship is 0.1c (or faster) particles hitting the ship would be slamming into it at velocities orders of magnitude lower.
What I would be concerned about is the theorized buildup of exotic particles at the front of the ship and whether some of that buildup seeps into the space where the ship itself is.
(Score: 2) by bitstream on Wednesday March 23 2016, @07:54PM
I knew it! The Aliens have resorted to bribe NASA when their waves didn't penetrate their hidden clothes foil and ordered them to use their secret fast than light craft to go there, open door, salt the planet, go home and then claim. "See no secret base, just salt!".
//Pointy haired hired consultant on security matters
Oh, btw there's no hackers. It's an illusion.. oh w8.. ¤#¤#¤#%)¤%NO CARRIER.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 23 2016, @08:07PM
This will one day be the trailer park of the solar system.
(Score: 3, Informative) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday March 23 2016, @10:26PM
Epsom salts are good for citrus trees. I sprinkle some around my lemon tree every spring and autumn.
You're welcome.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 24 2016, @03:41AM
The compound is also used as a laxative. Could comet mining finally make regularity affordable for the masses?
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday March 23 2016, @11:41PM
We can start mining the asteroids any day now.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by bitstream on Thursday March 24 2016, @12:30AM
So the article [bbc.com] states that "there is likely a global layer of ice and salt under the rocky rubble that coats Ceres". So there's perhaps a gigantic source of MgSO4. Perhaps one can make (space) vehicle parts from the magnesium and rocket fuel? And the "ice" is H2O? anyway there seems to be ammoniated phyllosilicates [nih.gov] (NH3) so there definitely rocket fuel potential.
With a gravity at 0.029 g and a escape velocity of 0.51 km/s it should be relatively easy to land and take of. The problem is likely to stay at the ground.
So maybe this planet can have its uses in the future of space faring?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 24 2016, @04:02AM
Hey, excuse me!! Ceres is not a planet!!! Despite its shape and the fact that it orbits the Sun, it's merely a dwarf planet [wikipedia.org]. It hasn't cleared its orbit of debris, like a real planet would. Let's not dilute the term "planet" by using it for anything spherical that goes around a star.
(Score: 2) by bitstream on Thursday March 24 2016, @05:26AM
Sorry, let's demote it to a dwarf planet then ;-)
The resources are still there regardless of this issue :p Though the asteroid belt seems like an ominous place to do things. Asteroid strikes are perhaps more likely to occur there?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 24 2016, @12:42PM
Question;
is the asteroid belt going to stay an asteroid belt forever or will it form a planet Ceres? Has anyone modelled how long that would still take for Ceres to clear its orbit?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 25 2016, @03:34AM
I'm not from the IAU police; I just dropped in to give bitstream a bit of a ribbing.
Someone wrote in Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] that the asteroid belt is thought to have lost ~99.9% of its original mass as objects were displaced from it by Mars and Jupiter, while "there has been no significant increase or decrease in the typical dimensions of the main-belt asteroids." Someone there wrote that the hypothesis that the asteroids are the remnants of a smashed-up planet [wikipedia.org] has fallen out of favour. Pity, that.
(Score: 1) by o_o on Thursday March 24 2016, @12:06PM
So maybe this planet can have [..]
Dwarf planet.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Some call me Tim on Thursday March 24 2016, @01:09AM
Just this morning I opened the cabinet under my sink and found Dawn and Epsom salts. Small world 'eh!
Questioning science is how you do science!