Space is silent. It keeps its secrets well. But sometimes, out in the darkness between Mars and Jupiter, something glimmers that screams for attention. We are looking at the asteroid belt, a graveyard of rocky debris. And sitting there, like a king on a throne of rubble, is the dwarf planet Ceres.

For decades, astronomers thought it was just a rock. A big, dead, boring rock. They were wrong. Dead wrong.

When NASA’s Dawn spacecraft approached Ceres in 2015, it didn’t find a barren wasteland. It found a mystery that defies the laws of geology. It found a structure that shouldn’t exist.

The Impossible Mountain

NASA is confused. You can hear it in their press releases. You can see it in the way they carefully choose their words. They spotted a structure. A pyramid. Not a rolling hill. Not a jagged ridge caused by tectonic plates smashing together. A solitary, cone-shaped peak rising out of nowhere.

NASA sent the Dawn spacecraft in for a closer look. They had to. You don’t just fly past a smoking gun like this.

Since descending to an altitude of 900 miles in mid-August of that mission, the view got three times sharper. Scientists zoomed in. They stared at the data. They were looking at a 4-mile-high mountain in Ceres’ southern hemisphere. Let that sink in. Four miles high.

That is roughly the height of Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley), the tallest mountain in North America. But Denali sits on a continent. It is part of a massive geological range. This thing on Ceres? It stands alone.

A Sore Thumb in a Flat Wasteland

The cone-shaped peak has shiny sides. They glow. They reflect sunlight with an intensity that suggests weird materials. Possibly ice. Maybe salt. Or, if you listen to the whispers on the underground forums, maybe even steel. Glass. Polished metallic plating.

The unexplained mountain pops out of a pretty flat region. It’s like seeing a skyscraper in the middle of a parking lot. Scientists aren’t sure how it got there. Plate tectonics? Ceres doesn’t have them in the way Earth does. Volcanism? Maybe, but where is the lava flow? Where is the debris?

Recent ideas include the thinking that the pyramid could be artificial! Nature builds in fractals, in chaos. Nature rarely builds a perfect, reflective cone standing in isolation.

NASA Goes Into “Panic Mode”

Why the rush? Why the sudden change in orbit? When you find a rock, you map it and move on. When you find an anomaly, you get closer. Fast.

NASA are worried!

In an unexpected turn of events, NASA decided the pyramid needed further investigation immediately. Dawn descended to an altitude of 230 miles in December. The space boffins needed to get a closer look. They needed to know if they were looking at geology or archaeology.

This is the moment the mission changed. It went from a mapping expedition to a reconnaissance mission. They were hunting.

As the spacecraft gets closer, more and more features are beginning to reveal themselves. The resolution increases. The pixels sharpen. And instead of resolving into a pile of rocks, the mystery deepens.

The Lights Are On, But Who’s Home?

This includes the mysterious bright spots. They appear now as an array of dots scattered across the floor of a crater. Their source remains unknown.

Imagine flying over Earth at night. You see cities. You see streetlights. Now imagine flying over a dead rock in deep space and seeing the same thing. High-intensity lights beaming up from a crater floor. Is it a reflection? Or is it active generation of light?

These images were taken by the Dawn spacecraft in its second mapping orbit, from a height of 2,700 miles (4,400km). Just six months prior, Ceres appeared as nothing more than a few pixels of light to Dawn. A smudge against the stars. Now it is nearing its closest orbit to the increasingly interesting dwarf planet.

By December of that year, the spacecraft was positioned just 225 miles (360km) above the surface. That is lower than the International Space Station is above Earth. That is skimming the treetops. If there were trees.

Deep Dive: The “Missing Planet” Theory

Let’s pause and look at where we are. The asteroid belt. Why is there a belt of rubble here? For centuries, astronomers have pointed to the “Titius-Bode Law,” a mathematical sequence that predicts a planet should exist exactly where the asteroid belt is. But there is no planet. Just millions of rocks.

Alternative historians and conspiracy theorists have long suggested that a planet did exist there. Some call it Phaeton. Others call it Tiamat or Maldek. The theory goes that it was destroyed in a massive cosmic war or a cataclysmic event eons ago.

If that is true, Ceres isn’t just a rock. It’s a survivor. A remnant. A chunk of a dead world. And if that dead world had a civilization, what would remain? Deep underground bunkers? Fortified mountains? Pyramids built to withstand planetary destruction?

For now, scientists must make do with these tantalising glimpses of the features that are waiting on the surface. In one new image, a pyramid-shaped peak is seen towering over a relatively flat surface.

The mountain is peculiar, as there are a few other features like it in the surrounding region – or even the rest of the dwarf planet. Usually, geology repeats itself. If you see one volcano, you see five. If you see one impact crater, you see a thousand. This pyramid is unique.

The Statistics of the Anomaly

The structure is thought to rise about three miles (five km), which is roughly the height of Mont Blanc in France and Italy, the highest mountain in the Alps. But Mont Blanc was pushed up by continents crashing together over millions of years. Ceres is a tiny ball of rock and ice. It shouldn’t have the energy to push up a Mont Blanc.

Unless it wasn’t pushed up. Unless it was placed there. Or carved.

Another image reveals the bright spots in greater detail. Several can be seen next to the largest bright area, estimated to be six miles (9km) wide. Six miles of glowing terrain. That is the size of a city.

The Mainstream Narrative: Salt and Ice

Ice and salt are the leading theories for what is causing this odd reflectivity. Of course they are. “It’s just salt,” they say. “It’s just ice.”

‘It is exciting seeing these features come into sharper focus,’ Dr Marc Rayman, Dawn’s mission director and chief engineer, told MailOnline.

A few months prior, when Dawn began observing its new home from afar, they called it a bright spot. Singular. One light. As the explorer closed in and provided better views, they realised it was two bright spots. Twin beacons.

‘Now we see it is many. It’s still not clear what is causing these strong reflections, and I think still more data are needed.

‘Everyone has her or his own personal favorite theory, but the ultimate arbiter is nature. That is, we can all speculate, and we can offer arguments, but the answer is going to be clear soon.

‘My money is on the remnants from ice that has sublimated. The salts left behind then could be what’s reflecting the light.’

Dr. Rayman is playing it safe. He has to. He works for the agency. But read between the lines. “Everyone has his or her own personal favorite theory.” He knows. He knows people are looking at those images and seeing geometry, not geology.

The mountain (seen here in another recent image) is peculiar, as there are a few other features like it in the surrounding region – or even the rest of the dwarf planet

Zooming in reveals the pyramid-shaped mountain in greater detail, but its formation and origin remains a mystery. These images were taken by the Dawn spacecraft in its second mapping orbit of Ceres, from a height of 2,700 miles (4,400km)

Modern Theories: Cryovolcanism or Cover-up?

Since these initial images were released, the “official” story has solidified. They named the mountain Ahuna Mons. They claim it is a “cryovolcano”—a volcano that erupts salty mud and water instead of lava. They say the mud bubbled up, froze, and built the mountain.

Sounds plausible, right? Maybe.

But look at the sides. Look at the steepness. Mud flows. Sludge settles. Ahuna Mons has sharp, defining ridges. It has striations that look structural. And why is it the only one? If Ceres has a molten core capable of pumping out mud-magma, why is there only one major pyramid on the entire planetoid?

Internet detectives have enhanced these images. They have applied filters. Many claim to see right angles. Some claim to see ramps. Others point out that the bright spots in the nearby Occator Crater look suspiciously like a power grid feeding the structure.

Other images reveal the multitude of craters and lines strewn across the surface of this world, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is a battered world. It has seen war. Or at least, a lot of impacts.

There is also evidence for past activity on the surface, including flows, landslides and collapsed natural structures. Things are moving down there.

Ceres appears to have more remnants of activity than the protoplanet Vesta, which the Dawn spacecraft studied for 14 months in 2011 and 2012. Vesta was a rock. Ceres is… alive?

Dawn, which arrived at Ceres on 6 March 2015, is the first spacecraft to orbit two separate bodies in the solar system. An incredible feat of engineering, powered by ion engines. Engines that glow blue. Just like the spots on Ceres? Coincidence?

It will remain in its current orbit until 30 June, before moving to a lower altitude of 900 miles (1,450km) by early August.

 

What are the bright spots REALLY?

What are the bright spots? This is the question that keeps astronomers awake at night.

Several theories are currently being touted for what the mysterious bright white spots are on Ceres. The intensity of the light is the problem. Rock doesn’t shine like that. Dirty ice doesn’t shine like that.

The Hubble Space Telescope has found more than 10 on the surface, but Ceres has found that the two most prominent – ‘spot 5’ – are in a crater about 57 miles (92km) wide.

This image reveals the bright spots in greater detail. Several spots can be seen next to the largest bright area on the left, estimated to be six miles (9km) wide

Theory 1: The Sodium Solution

One theory is that they are salt flats that are reflecting sunlight, left on the surface by saltwater or by other chemical reactions. Magnesium sulfate. Sodium carbonate. Essentially, baking soda. NASA loves this theory. It’s boring. It’s safe. It explains the reflection without invoking aliens.

Theory 2: The Ice Mirror

Another theory is that they are regions of massive, pure ice, again reflecting sunlight. Ceres is thought to have plenty of ice beneath its surface, which could be exposed when an asteroid or comet strikes the surface. The fact these bright spots are in a crater – where such an impact occurred – supports this theory.

But ice sublimates. In the vacuum of space, ice turns to gas and vanishes. Unless it is being replenished. Constantly. From below.

Theory 3: The Industrial Complex

Let’s get wild. What if the salt is a byproduct? What if the “ice” is a shield? Look at the spacing of the spots. Look at the geometry. Another possibility is that they are cryovolcanoes – volcanoes that are shooting out water or ice. However, the lack of a raised area around the spots consistent with a volcano suggests this might not be correct.

Volcanoes build cones. These spots are flat. They are on the floor. Like a parking lot. Like a landing pad.

And they could even be water vapour ejecting from a liquid reservoir under the ground, although again current observations – namely a lack of additional material near the spots – suggests this is not the case.

The Hidden Ocean

‘The surface of Ceres has revealed many interesting and unique features,’ said Dr Carol Raymond, deputy principal investigator for the Dawn mission, based at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

‘For example, icy moons in the outer solar system have craters with central pits, but on Ceres central pits in large craters are much more common.

‘These and other features will allow us to understand the inner structure of Ceres that we cannot sense directly.’

Here is the kicker. Recent data suggests Ceres might have a subsurface ocean. A warm, salty ocean deep underground. Liquid water. The essential ingredient for life.

If there is an ocean, and there is heat, could there be life? And if there is life, could it have evolved? Or could something have landed there to harvest that water? A refueling station for interstellar travelers hopping between Mars and Jupiter.

The pyramid. The lights. The ocean. The puzzle pieces are all there. NASA calls it geology. We call it suspicious.

What do you see when you look at the lonely mountain? Do you see mud? Or do you see a monument?

 

Originally posted 2015-09-17 15:18:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Originally posted 2015-09-17 15:18:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter