Waspie_Dwarf Posted January 22, 2014 #1 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Herschel discovers water vapour around dwarf planet Ceres 22 January 2014 ESA’s Herschel space observatory has discovered water vapour around Ceres, the first unambiguous detection of water vapour around an object in the asteroid belt.With a diameter of 950 km, Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt, which lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. But unlike most asteroids, Ceres is almost spherical and belongs to the category of ‘dwarf planets’, which also includes Pluto. Read more... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xynoplas Posted January 22, 2014 #2 Share Posted January 22, 2014 We will know much more in 2015: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/feature_stories/Dawn_Fills_Out_Ceres_Dance_Card.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithisco Posted January 23, 2014 #3 Share Posted January 23, 2014 January 22, 2014 Scientists using the Herschel space observatory have made the first definitive detection of water vapor on the largest and roundest object in the asteroid belt, Ceres. Plumes of water vapor are thought to shoot up periodically from Ceres when portions of its icy surface warm slightly. Ceres is classified as a dwarf planet, a solar system body bigger than an asteroid and smaller than a planet. Herschel is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission with important NASA contributions. Read More, Coutesy JPL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-020&1&utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NASAJPL&utm_content=releases20140122 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranomaly Posted January 24, 2014 #4 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Expanding our knowledge of the universe is awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeaflor Posted January 24, 2014 #5 Share Posted January 24, 2014 At the risk of violating some mysterious rules against discussing religion I want to point out that the Book of Genesis records that God placed a layer of water vapor around the earth. Genesis 1:7-8 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. Firmament/heaven in this usage simply means the sky/earth’s atmosphere. This water vapor precipitated out at the time of Noah’s Flood. Now, since nobody here seems to be able to answer the questions that brought me here, I see no reason to prolong my presence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted January 24, 2014 Author #6 Share Posted January 24, 2014 At the risk of violating some mysterious rules against discussing religion There is nothing mysterious about our rules. We ask that topics not be threads not be taken off topic and that members don't preach. Your post breaks both these rules. If you wish to discuss religion there are sections for you to do that. This section is for science discussions. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xynoplas Posted January 24, 2014 #7 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Anyway, the vapor is barely visible; it's not surprising that a little should be present. Don't comets at that solar distance begin to have tails? Maybe this is just NASA trying to stir up interest in their project. Ceres as a harbor for extraterrestrial life is an extreme long shot. Its water is as frozen as it gets, with no possibility of tidal heating as you would in a moon in orbit around a gas giant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erowin Posted February 13, 2014 #8 Share Posted February 13, 2014 (edited) Space whales Edited February 13, 2014 by Erowin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted February 13, 2014 Author #9 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Space whales Yes, very good. You do know what vapour is don't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyche101 Posted February 14, 2014 #10 Share Posted February 14, 2014 2 Questions, if I may ask Waspie: 1 - Why is Ceres not shown on typical depictions of the solar system when Pluto often rates a mention before and after the demotion to Dwarf Planet? As per: And 2 - Where does all the water come from? From the link: “We estimate that approximately 6 kg of water vapour is being produced per second, requiring only a tiny fraction of Ceres to be covered by water ice, which links nicely to the two localised surface features we have observed,” If it has been doing this for 4 billion years or thereabouts, it would have to be getting low on water would it not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xynoplas Posted February 14, 2014 #11 Share Posted February 14, 2014 If it has been doing this for 4 billion years or thereabouts, it would have to be getting low on water would it not? So is your conclusion that the measurements are mistaken, or do you believe that some other factor is at work? As I said, the probe will doubtless teach us more about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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