Dawn Sends Stunning New Pictures of Ceres

Medicine & Technology Apr 18, 2015

For months now everyone has been waiting to catch a detailed glimpse at the dwarf planet Ceres. Once Dawn entered orbit around Ceres, it spent its first month on the dark side of the dwarf planet sending back no images, of course. Now, however, the wait is over and Dawn has sent back one of the sharpest ever looking images of the previously unexplored world and the images will only get better from here.

NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Emerges into the Light

Apr 11, 2015

The time has almost arrived. NASA's Dawn spacecraft has sent back some of the first pictures of the dwarf planet, Ceres, after spending about a month approaching the world from its dark side.

Scientists Believe Ceres Might Have A Volcano

Mar 19, 2015

Since the arrival of the Dawn spacecraft, scientists have been hard at work beginning their studies of the planet that was never meant to be. When it first started its approach, the scientific community was abuzz as the first pictures showed bright spots on the surface. Now, scientists believe that these bright spots could possibly be volcanoes of ice.

VIDEO—NASA’s Satellite Space Fleet Path Patterns Revealed

Mar 09, 2015

While it may be a groggy Monday morning, after most of the world lost an hour this weekend in the readjustment of our clocks, a new animation from NASA reveals that you may be luckier than their satellites who are on the clock 24 hours a day. While you may know that many of the satellites like Aqua, Aura and CloudSat pass overhead everyday at 1:30pm, no matter where you are, you may not have given their movements much thought or ever fully realized exactly how many satellites are working for the space agency. But in celebration of NASA’s newest achievement in having their Dawn satellite reach the dwarf planet Ceres, their giving us a new view of what orbiters do here at home.

What's Next for Dawn at the Dwarf Planet Ceres

Mar 07, 2015

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has completed its eight-year journey to the dwarf planet Ceres, but what lies ahead for the history making spacecraft while it orbits the planet that was never meant to be?

Dawn Spacecraft Arrives to Ceres—Hear What NASA Has to Say About the Mission

Mar 06, 2015

After more than seven years of drifting in space, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has finally achieved its primary mission of entering orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres. Becoming the first ever mission to achieve orbit around a dwarf planet, mission controllers with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory received confirmation this morning that the small orbiter had finally reached its destination.

Dawn’s Long Journey About to End By Entering Orbit of Ceres

Mar 04, 2015

As the week draws to a close, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will begin the final climax of its long journey as it enters orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest body in the Main Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter.

NASA Receives Proposals for More Solar System Exploration

Mar 01, 2015

NASA has received dozens of new proposals for robotic missions for launch in 2021 to explore different parts of the solar system. Scientists have submitted concepts for sending probes to the moon, asteroids, comets and other planets for a chance to win $450 million in federal funding for their mission.

As Dawn Spacecraft Approaches, A Second Bright Light Emerges from Ceres

Feb 27, 2015

To better answer Piazzi’s original questions, and some new ones that have arisen in the more than two centuries since it was first discovered, researchers with NASA developed the Dawn Spacecraft mission which was originally launched in 2007. After a successful 14-month-orbit around Vesta in the asteroid belt, Dawn is now moving onto the next dwarf planet and will arrive to Ceres within the next week. And the first question that the Dawn mission would like to answer is a glaring one, visible on the surface.

Will Dawn Find Life on Ceres? What NASA Has to Say About Possible Life on the Dwarf Planet

Feb 07, 2015

Releasing the sharpest set of images from within the asteroid belt to date, this week NASA researchers have filled the internet with their hopes for what may lie on the dwarf planet Ceres. Only a month before NASA’s Dawn spacecraft will enter orbit around the 590-mile-wide dwarf, found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, the space agency is hopeful that their mission will reveal a lot more about the small planet and the secrets its surface may hold.

NASA’s Dawn Captures Unseen Image of Dwarf Planet Ceres in Asteroid Belt

Feb 06, 2015

Only a month before starting its orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres in our solar system's main asteroid belt, NASA's Dawn spacecraft has revealed the sharpest images of the mysterious dwarf planet to date.

NASA Scientists Mystified by White Spot on Ceres

Jan 26, 2015

NASA's Dawn spacecraft continues its approach to the dwarf planet Ceres for its planned mission. During this approach it has already snapped several images of this small planet located in the asteroid belt. And what these pictures have revealed has mystified scientists at NASA for weeks.

Dwarf Planet Ceres Approached by Dawn

Jan 20, 2015

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has begun approaching the dwarf planet Ceres, and with a new vantage point it has snapped some of its first images of the planet showing possible craters on the surface.

Planets Outside Our Solar System May Be More Hospitable to Life Than Originally Believed

Jan 20, 2015

A study by astrophysicists at the University of Toronto suggests that exoplanets - planets that are outside our solar system - are more likely to have liquid water, and therefore may be more hospitable to life than researchers originally thought.

NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft Makes Approach to Ceres

Jan 03, 2015

NASA's Dawn Spacecraft, launched in 2007, is beginning to make its approach to Ceres, a dwarf planet located in the asteroid belt. Dawn's mission will make it the first craft to orbit two bodies in the solar system after spending 14 months studying the protoplanet Vesta.