Herschel Telescope Detects Water on Dwarf Planet an. 22, 2014. Dwarf planet Ceres is located in the main asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, as illustrated in this artists conception. Observations by the Herschel space observatory between 2011 and 2013 find that the dwarf planet has a thin water vapor atmosphere. This is the first unambiguous detection of water vapor around an object in the asteroid belt. Herschel is a European Space Agency mission, with science instruments provided by consortia of European institutes and with important participation by NASA. While the observatory stopped making science observations in April 2013, after running out of liquid coolant, as expected, scientists continue to analyze its data. NASAs Herschel Project Office is based at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. JPL contributed mission-enabling technology for two of Herschels three science instruments. The NASA Herschel Science Center, part of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, supports the U.S. astronomical community. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. ► Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab Dwarf Planet Ceres, Artists Impression.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 21:55:00 +0000
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