PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 20 (UPI) -- NASA's deep space probe Dawn is fast approaching the dwarf planet Ceres, and it continues to capture and beam back close-ups of the icy sphere.
While the admittedly pixelated new Ceres pics don't look all that impressive in the context of today's high-def digital world, the latest images capture the mini planet in greater detail than ever before. Of course, as Dawn continues to get closer, the images will only get sharper. Dawn is expected to fly by Ceres at its closest proximity on March 6.
The new images aren't just impressive, they offer new insight into the dwarf planet's composition.
"We know so much about the solar system and yet so little about dwarf planet Ceres. Now, Dawn is ready to change that," Marc Rayman, Dawn's chief engineer and mission director, said in a news release.
The images, released Tuesday by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, show differentiations on Ceres' surface -- variations that suggest impact craters. Surface craters would make plenty of sense, considering Ceres lives in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter -- the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system.
As more images are fielded in the coming weeks, scientists will be able to attain an improved understanding of Ceres' existence -- part planet and part asteroid, part rock and part ice.
"The team is very excited to examine the surface of Ceres in never-before-seen detail," said UCLA scientist Chris Russell, the Dawn's lead investigator. "We look forward to the surprises this mysterious world may bring."
