IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

NASA's Dawn Probe Focuses on a Different Mystery Spot on Ceres

The latest picture from NASA's mission to dwarf planet Ceres shows a bright area that's different from the "alien headlights" seen in other imagery.

What Can We Learn From Visiting Ceres?

00:43
By Alan Boyle

Now here's a spot of a different color: The latest picture released by the science team for NASA's Dawn mission shows a bright patch on the dwarf planet Ceres that's distinct from the eerie "alien headlights" seen in other imagery.

The best-known collection of bright spots on Ceres is known as "Spot 5," and the best guess is that those spots are made of ice deposits — although scientists haven't completely ruled out the possibility that they're made of salt or some other light-colored material.

What Can We Learn From Visiting Ceres?

March 5, 201500:43

Related: Ceres' White Spots Shine in New Pic

The picture released on Tuesday focuses on another bright area called Spot 1. The image was captured on June 6 from an altitude of 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers).

Dawn's scientists say Spot 1 is as much a mystery as the more famous Spot 5:

The picture sparked a fair amount of discussion on Twitter, focusing on what appears to be a bright ray pattern fanning out from Spot 1's crater. Could the bright stuff be subsurface water ice that was exposed and blasted away by a cosmic impact? Stay tuned for the answer: Dawn is sure to be taking an even closer look at Spot 1, Spot 5 and Ceres' other mysteries in the months ahead.

Alan Boyle

Alan Boyle is the science editor for NBC News Digital. He joined MSNBC.com at its inception in July 1996, and took on the science role in July 1997 with the landing of NASA's Mars Pathfinder probe. Boyle is responsible for coverage of science and space for NBCNews.com.

Boyle joined NBCNews.com from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, where he was the foreign desk editor from 1987 to 1996. Boyle has won awards for science journalism from numerous organizations, including the National Academies, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Association of Science Writers. Boyle is the author of "The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made a Big Difference." He lives in Bellevue, Wash.