3 ms·

Mystery of Ceres' bright spots grows

56 points by swamp40 12y ago

tericho 12y ago
I just learned about Dyson Trees[1] recently. Could this be related? (Layman asking serious question) [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeman_Dyson#Dyson_tree http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeman_Dyson#Dyson_tree
- b08aa8b0dcfce 12y ago
  Yes it is currently the most likely hypothesis.
- madaxe_again 12y ago
  Pretty unlikely. Not entirely impossible, but Ceres would be an odd place for ETs to set up shop and then stay hush for a few eons. More likely it's water or sulphur. I think we may be in for a big "Ceres is volcanically (could by cryovolcanism) active" shock, given the lack of cratering they've also observed. It's a decent size, its composition is only hypothetically known, it may have more latent heat than we expect. If so, it's extremely exciting news, as it means it's not quite the inhospitable cold, dry, rock we expected.
  - fit2rule 12y ago
    Honestly, I seriously hope its aliens. We zoom in once we get closer and discover structures that can only be described as a UFO base. While we're all astonished, we see one take off, it lands on the White House lawn and offers us all a free ride to the nearest star. I'd go.
    - madaxe_again 12y ago
      The most likely "aliens!" thing we have at the moment is FRBs. Perhaps there'll be a little sign there saying "all these asteroids are yours, except Ceres."
      - deleted 12y ago
        [deleted]
smoyer 12y ago
Amazing science ... I can't wait to hear more (assuming more can be gleaned by this spacecraft). The article also gave me a chuckle - "after an errant cosmic ray". If that cosmic ray had behaved itself and gone where it was told we wouldn't have had any problems!
- theophrastus 12y ago
  "errant" just means "wandering", from the Latin form iterare. It's where we get, for example, "a Knight errant" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight-errant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight-errant), sometimes spelled "arrant". To be mistaken as 'in error' was a latter meaning which became fused.

56 points by swamp40 12y ago

I just learned about Dyson Trees[1] recently. Could this be related? (Layman asking serious question) [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeman_Dyson#Dyson_tree http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeman_Dyson#Dyson_tree

b08aa8b0dcfce 12y ago
Yes it is currently the most likely hypothesis.
madaxe_again 12y ago
Pretty unlikely. Not entirely impossible, but Ceres would be an odd place for ETs to set up shop and then stay hush for a few eons. More likely it's water or sulphur. I think we may be in for a big "Ceres is volcanically (could by cryovolcanism) active" shock, given the lack of cratering they've also observed. It's a decent size, its composition is only hypothetically known, it may have more latent heat than we expect. If so, it's extremely exciting news, as it means it's not quite the inhospitable cold, dry, rock we expected.
- fit2rule 12y ago
  Honestly, I seriously hope its aliens. We zoom in once we get closer and discover structures that can only be described as a UFO base. While we're all astonished, we see one take off, it lands on the White House lawn and offers us all a free ride to the nearest star. I'd go.
  - madaxe_again 12y ago
    The most likely "aliens!" thing we have at the moment is FRBs. Perhaps there'll be a little sign there saying "all these asteroids are yours, except Ceres."
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]

smoyer 12y ago

Amazing science ... I can't wait to hear more (assuming more can be gleaned by this spacecraft). The article also gave me a chuckle - "after an errant cosmic ray". If that cosmic ray had behaved itself and gone where it was told we wouldn't have had any problems!

theophrastus 12y ago
"errant" just means "wandering", from the Latin form iterare. It's where we get, for example, "a Knight errant" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight-errant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight-errant), sometimes spelled "arrant". To be mistaken as 'in error' was a latter meaning which became fused.