New images taken by Nasa's Dawn spacecraft have captured an odd, pyramid-shaped peak protruding from the flat surface of Ceres.
The craft has been observing the dwarf planet, which lies in the distant asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, from a second mapping orbit of 4,400km (2,700 miles). The latest images reveal an unusual, pointed mountain jutting from an otherwise smooth stretch of the landscape, estimated to be around 5km (3 miles) tall.
Although there are yet to be any explanations for the pyramid's origins, previous studies of the planet have revealed a whole host of active phenomena on its surface, from landslides and rock flows to remnants of crumbled (natural) structures.
A series of currently inexplicable bright spots have also added to the planet's manifold mysteries. The white spots were previously seen on an earlier mapping of Ceres, but the latest view has captured eight smaller spots enigmatically scattered across the surface of a 55-mile-wide crater.
Nasa scientists believe that the spots are caused by a highly reflective material, such as salt deposits or ice, but it's hoped that further study by Dawn's visible and infrared mapping spectrometer -- which can identify specific minerals by analysing how light is reflected -- will yield some more definitive answers.
Carol Raymond, deputy principal investigator for the Dawn mission, commented: "The surface of Ceres has revealed many interesting and unique features. 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."
She continued: "These and other features will allow us to understand the inner structure of Ceres that we cannot sense directly.
Dawn arrived at Ceres on 6 March, 2015, and is the first ever mission to visit a dwarf planet. More images will be revealed as it comes closer to the surface in the coming months.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
