The Dwarf Planet Ceres May Have A Cryovolcano

Ceres is currently being orbited by the Dawn spacecraft, and according to some new studies from the Dawn team, a 13,000-foot mountain called Ahuna Mons might not even be a mountain, but a cryovolcano.

This assumption is made because of the surface temperature on Ceres that hovers around -40 degrees Fahrenheit. This means that the water can freeze to be as hard as a rock, and that could form enormous frozen mountains.

But, according to some researchers, Ahuna Mons’ temperature is even lower that one of a giant ice mountain, that’s why they think that it’s actually a giant ice volcano. To top that off, it was recently formed. Since the scientist couldn’t find any signs of tectonic activity that could form the mountains, they think it probably erupted out of the surface of the planet.

This image provided by NASA, shows an inactive volcano on the surface of Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists said the volcano on the dwarf planet Ceres is about half as tall as Mount Everest. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA via AP)

Volcanos made of solid rock can sometimes spew molten magma, and cryovolcanoes spit out liquid water instead. So how was Ahuna Mons formed? Well, scientists believe that Ahuna Mons formed when the molten material pushed up against the surface, squeezing itself enough to make a raised dome, but, it wasn’t enough to burst it.

Source: Press Examiner

Varino

Editor

Joined Stellar Hub as an editor in the summer of 2016.