18-Km-Wide Pyramid Spotted On Ceres by NASA’s Dawn Space Probe

Okay, enough. At best it's a lop-sided cone, or just a hill, not a pyramid. Glenn

18-Km-Wide Pyramid Spotted On Ceres by NASA’s Dawn Space Probe

Written by Molly Solana on 18 Jun 2015

NASA's space probe Dawn has imaged a gigantic pyramid like feature rising perhaps as much as 4-8 kilometers above the surface of minor planet Ceres.

After the mysterious bright spots, Dawn spacecraft has spotted a huge pyramid like feature on the surface of Ceres.

Recent images sent back home by the craft were captured on June 6, 2015. Taking the altitude of 4, 400 kilometers, Dawn spacecraft began to circle Ceres on its second mapping orbit.

NASA experts said the pyramid could be 18 kilometers across and taking a quick estimate of around 28 degrees for the angle of the left-hand slope, and figuring the peak to be around two-thirds of the way across the base, puts the peak at over 6,300 meters high.

The human-made 'Great' Pyramid of Giza is just 139 meters high. This newly discovered formation stands out as yet another amazing feature that has puzzled scientists.

Furthermore in the mission, Dawn would draw closer to the surface to 1,450 km for its High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) from Aug 6-Oct 15. Later it will go then down to 375 km for its Low Altitude Mapping Orbit (LAMO) from Dec 8 to mission end.

The images captured will provide more clues as to the origin of these formations, but will (no doubt) also reveal even more fascinating details about Ceres, said NASA experts.

There has been speculation that the more reflective spots and structures coming into clearer view on Ceres are made of ice or salts.
Ceres, the largest body between Mars and Jupiter in the main asteroid belt, has a diameter of about 590 miles (950 kilometers).

As per some scientists, the dwarf planet harbored a subsurface ocean in the past and liquid water may still be lurking under its icy mantle.