Ceres is covered in countless small, young craters, but none are larger than 175 miles (280 km) in diameter. This is a huge mystery, given that the dwarf planet must have been hit by numerous large asteroids during its 4.5 billion-year lifetime. Where did all the large craters go? A new study explores this puzzle using data from NASA Dawn Mission. "We concluded that a significant population of large craters on Ceres has been obliterated beyond recognition over geological time scales, which is li

114K views · 1.4K reactions | Ceres, the closest dwarf planet to Earth and the ruler of the asteroid belt, remains shrouded in some mystery. Though NASA's Dawn spacecraft captured incredible data, questions linger. Could Ceres' intriguing bright spots be signs of ongoing geological activity, or frozen remnants of a watery past? Does a hidden ocean exist beneath its icy surface, and if so, could it harbor any form of life? | The Brain Maze | Facebook

Ceres reveals some of its well-kept secrets in two new studies in the journal Nature, thanks to data from the NASA Dawn Mission. They include highly anticipated insights about mysterious bright features found all over the dwarf planet's surface. Spoiler alert: They're salty. More: http://go.nasa.gov/1IUZ3NC | NASA Solar System Exploration