Ceres' temporary atmosphere linked to solar activity

Scientists have long thought that Ceres may have a very weak, transient atmosphere, but mysteries lingered about its origin and why it's not always present. Now, researchers suggest that this temporary atmosphere appears ...

Ice in Ceres' shadowed craters linked to tilt history

Dwarf planet Ceres may be hundreds of millions of miles from Jupiter, and even farther from Saturn, but the tremendous influence of gravity from these gas giants has an appreciable effect on Ceres' orientation. In a new study, ...

NASA spacecraft nears historic dwarf planet arrival

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has returned new images captured on approach to its historic orbit insertion at the dwarf planet Ceres. Dawn will be the first mission to successfully visit a dwarf planet when it enters orbit around ...

Vesta reveals the childhood of the Solar System

Investigating the earliest and least-known phases of the history of the solar system, when the young sun was still enveloped by a disk of gas and dust in which the planets began to form, is probably one of the most complex ...

Image: Ahuna Mons on Ceres

This image, based on observations from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows the largest mountain on the dwarf planet Ceres.

Dawn completes primary mission

On June 30, just in time for the global celebration known as Asteroid Day, NASA's Dawn spacecraft completes its primary mission. The mission exceeded all expectations originally set for its exploration of protoplanet Vesta ...

Dawn mission to gather more data in home stretch

As NASA's Dawn spacecraft prepares to wrap up its groundbreaking 11-year mission, which has included two successful extended missions at Ceres, it will continue to explore—collecting images and other data.

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