Ceres: An ancient ocean world from the dawn of the solar system

The main asteroid belt contains millions of objects but only a few date from the earliest stages of planet formation. The Dawn mission explored two such fossils: protoplanet Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, the latter of which the spacecraft began to explore in March 2015.

Since then, the mission has gathered evidence of geologic activity and clues confirming that Ceres had an ancient subsurface ocean, placing Ceres in the important class of objects with astrobiological potential. Raymond will discuss the mission’s results in the context of conditions and physical processes at the dawn of our solar system.

Reserved section tickets are available to members of the Friends of Beckman Auditorium and the Caltech Associates.

Date/Time: 
11/09/2016 - 20:00
Presenter: 
Carol Raymond
Location: 
Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium