Mysterious lights on Ceres
 

Anyone been following the story about the mysterious lights on the dwarf planet Ceres?

Any theories on what it might be?

Yeah, I know...aliens.

http://www.redorbit.com/media/upload...ts-617x346.jpg

I read somewhere that they think it might be ice reflecting sunlight.


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Pretty obvious it's most likely ice reflecting the sun, and if not some kind of rock that is reflecting the sun.

Might be unusual, but now that we know there is water on the moon and thus potentially any other planet or moon it shouldn't come as a surprise.

I tend to suspect it's ice...but what makes it "pretty obvious"?

The mothership is coming

Christmas on ceres ?

Duh, aren't we all astrophysicists here?

Is there anything you are not an expert in? I mean damn it must be awesome having you around to always answer every question there is or even when there are no questions you speak up and tell how you know this and that. You know "that guy" that even knows why you do what you do. You are never wrong and when it seems like you are... well that is because the others just don't get it. dumb fucks :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh no shit. fucking idiots haha:)

There's a reason nobody shouted, "Cliff!" when he walked in the room.


http://d1w7nqlfxfj094.cloudfront.net...in-620x350.jpg

It looks like LV and Henderson from 40,000 feet. Maybe there's an Alien "Strip" down there.

I forgot the lights ON last night, sorry

dang, it's nutty phenomenon eh.


my science news feeds didn't pick this story up for me, i'll dig it up.

i just ask if its ice, why only there

In fact, I am not an expert in anything. Instead, apply common sense. Even more so when any 8th grader can answer the question.

NASA can't answer the question. maybe they're a bunch of 7th graders.

Let me give it a try.

1. It's not only there. When any comet comes close enough to the sun, it lights up brilliantly reflecting sunlight, sometimes so much of it that the brightest comets become visible in the daytime sky here. Satellite and astronaut photos show how brightly polar ice and clouds reflect that light, and many of the same photos show strong reflections from the sun on the oceans and other surface water. All of what we can see of other planets and natural satellites comes from reflected sunlight.

2. Mars has thin polar caps. They come and go in intensity because of climate and we don't think they are very exceptional because our home planet has similar polar caps.

3. I think what you're asking is why, if this is ice, there are only two spots of it and because they near the equator of Ceres, far away from the presumably colder poles. We have not seen that anywhere else. Let me venture a guess. We've recently learned that Mars is likely to have broad expanses of ice, frozen ground that would be like a marsh if the temperature were warmer. The scientists think that it's covered by a thin layer of soil where the ice exists. And if this ice were not covered by Mars soil, maybe it would reflect, too. Maybe Ceres has a similar structure, with frozen marshy soil, ice together with dirt, and covered by a thin layer of dirt. One possibility is that the topsoil got removed by a meteor strike. Another possibility is that the ice lies at the bottom of a steep crater, and that it does not melt because it is so far from the sun. The most interesting possibility is that it's caused by a massive outcropping of shiny metal or crystal - and maybe, too, a meteor strike uncovered these two spots by removing the soil.

they've also recently identified underground glaciers on Mars that are full of frozen water.

Glaciers beneath the dusty sands of Mars contain enough water to coat the planet with more than three feet of ice, a new study shows.

“We have calculated that the ice in the glaciers is equivalent to over 150 billion cubic meters of ice — that much ice could cover the entire surface of Mars with 1.1 meters (3.6 feet) of ice,” Nanna Bjørnholt Karlsson, a post-doctoral researcher the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, said in a statement.

Buried Mars Glaciers are Brimming With Water : Discovery News


combined with

Researchers have for the first time found salty liquid water filled with life beneath a dry valley in Antarctica -- a discovery, which supports the possibility of life on Mars.

"The occurrence of groundwater in Antarctica, particularly in the ice-free regions and along the coastal margins is poorly understood. Here we use an airborne transient electromagnetic (AEM) sensor to produce extensive imagery of resistivity beneath Taylor Valley. Regional-scale zones of low subsurface resistivity were detected that are inconsistent with the high resistivity of glacier ice or dry permafrost in this region. We interpret these results as an indication that liquid, with sufficiently high solute content, exists at temperatures well below freezing and considered within the range suitable for microbial life. These inferred brines are widespread within permafrost and extend below glaciers and lakes."

Deep groundwater and potential subsurface habitats beneath an Antarctic dry valley : Nature Communications : Nature Publishing Group

I don't hang out with 13yr olds - so I'll take your word on that.

Fuck... It could be anything... :) We'll never know what is out there for sure... :)

Could be a volcano.

Totally agree.

Space noise--lost pixels?

NASA answered the question right out of the gate:

Again, common sense.

you might think that, but those of us that can read did in fact read that NASA has not and will not confirm what they are.

there's no such thing as common sense when it comes to wtf is in outer space. that's common sense.

alien base 452

100% possitive it is alien pyramids with reflective solar panels.

Tractor beam initiated

So you believe Nasa scientist when they tell you about other planets, but not when they tell you about climate change here on Earth. Got it.

Huh?


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Im surprised no one's said deathstar yet

That is funny. People select what they want to believe as if science is some kind of religion.


My guess about Ceres is that those spots are impact locations of an asteroid or two causing massive aamounts of glass to be formed. Or perhaps it is even just a super large area of reflective material that is naturally occurring.

whatever it is, its definitely NSA.

:2 cents:

Best estimate from NASA is it'll be about another month before they get into low orbit and the data is transmitted back to earth.

Sounds like we may hear the anwer sometime in May...maybe June.

NASA should check it out in depth. :2 cents:

no, dumbfuck, as i've mentioned many times, my issue with climate change debate are dumfucks like you who need to make curbing pollution a political debate while you tell others what to do. and again, it's NASA, dumbfuck. get it right or stfu.

no, it's a misrepresentation by a dumbfuck canaduhian that you want to believe.

except for you, huh phoenix.

that is funny.

Its very big lightning..maybe its some burning proces part of the evolution