Book contents
- Vesta and Ceres: Insights from the Dawn Mission for the Origin of the Solar System
- Cambridge Planetary Science
- Vesta and Ceres
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Remote Observations and Exploration of Main Belt Asteroids
- Part II Key Results from Dawn’s Exploration of Vesta and Ceres
- 3 Protoplanet Vesta and HED Meteorites
- 4 The Internal Evolution of Vesta
- 5 Geomorphology of Vesta
- 6 The Surface Composition of Vesta
- 7 Ceres’ Surface Composition
- 8 Carbon and Organic Matter on Ceres
- 9 Ammonia on Ceres
- 10 Geomorphology of Ceres
- 11 Ceres’ Internal Evolution
- 12 Geophysics of Vesta and Ceres
- Part III Implications for the Formation and Evolution of the Solar System
- Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
- References
10 - Geomorphology of Ceres
from Part II - Key Results from Dawn’s Exploration of Vesta and Ceres
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 April 2022
- Vesta and Ceres: Insights from the Dawn Mission for the Origin of the Solar System
- Cambridge Planetary Science
- Vesta and Ceres
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Remote Observations and Exploration of Main Belt Asteroids
- Part II Key Results from Dawn’s Exploration of Vesta and Ceres
- 3 Protoplanet Vesta and HED Meteorites
- 4 The Internal Evolution of Vesta
- 5 Geomorphology of Vesta
- 6 The Surface Composition of Vesta
- 7 Ceres’ Surface Composition
- 8 Carbon and Organic Matter on Ceres
- 9 Ammonia on Ceres
- 10 Geomorphology of Ceres
- 11 Ceres’ Internal Evolution
- 12 Geophysics of Vesta and Ceres
- Part III Implications for the Formation and Evolution of the Solar System
- Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
- References
Summary
The dwarf planet Ceres has unique geomorphology, different from airless silicate objects like the Moon or asteroid Vesta, but also different from the icy outer planet satellites. All four primary planetary geologic processes [impact cratering, tectonism, volcanism, and gradation (weathering, erosion, and deposition of loose material)] are visible on Ceres’ surface.Ceres’ low albedo, heavily cratered surface displays craters <300 km in diameter, in which the lack of larger, multi-ring basins suggests resurfacing event(s) early in the dwarf planet’s history. Ejecta blankets in the youngest craters display bluish ejecta and rays, and lobate deposits in and around craters suggest impact slurries, ice-rich landslides, or cryovolcanic flows. Some landslides have exposed water ice, in less than a dozen locations on the surface. Tectonic features include impact-induced secondary crater chains and non-impact-related pit chains and fractures. Several impact craters have heavily fractured floors akin to those on the Moon. The distinctive mountain Ahuna Mons appears to be a cryovolcanic edifice, composed of a viscous, salt-rich, carbonate-bearing material. Ceres distinctive bright spots, Cerealia and Vinalia Faculae within Occator crater, are composed of salt-rich liquids containing carbonates, and were likely emplaced by some combination of deep brines extrusion and hydrothermal (shallow brines) processes.
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- Vesta and CeresInsights from the Dawn Mission for the Origin of the Solar System, pp. 143 - 158Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022