NASA probe returns best-ever images of dwarf planet Ceres

U.S. space agency NASA said Tuesday its Dawn spacecraft has returned the sharpest images of dwarf planet Ceres, revealing the possible presence of craters and other "tantalizing features" on the largest object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The images, taken 147,000 miles (about 237,000 kilometers) from Ceres on Jan. 25, are more than 30 percent higher in resolution than those taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2003 and 2004, NASA said.

And the probe will send back increasingly better and better images over the next two months as it heads towards its historic rendezvous with the dwarf planet on March 6, which will mark the first time a human-made spacecraft has ever visited a dwarf planet.

"We are already seeing areas and details on Ceres popping out that had not been seen before. For instance, there are several dark features in the southern hemisphere that might be craters within a region that is darker overall," said Carol Raymond, deputy principal investigator of the Dawn mission, in a statement.

"Data from this mission will revolutionize our understanding of this unique body. Ceres is showing us tantalizing features that are whetting our appetite for the detailed exploration to come," Raymond said.

By Ruchi Singh

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com