Tuesday, 24 February 2015

Ceres Ocean

Q55: Will a liquid ocean be detected on the dwarf planet Ceres by the Dawn spacecraft?
Yes: 25%
No: 75%
(This question will be resolved by the resolution of SciCast Question 1148)

There has been speculation that a subsurface liquid ocean may exist on the dwarf planet Ceres.  Ceres is thought to have a high ice content, and water vapour emission from it was detected recently.  The NASA Dawn spacecraft will soon be in orbit around Ceres, and may be able to answer this question.

The biggest problem with this question may be one of detection; even if Ceres does have a liquid water ocean, Dawn may not be able to confirm its existence.  Also, unlike Europa (which almost certainly does have a liquid ocean), Ceres does not have tidal heating.  Still, the possibility of a liquid ocean seems real.


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