Dawn spacecraft explores dwarf planet Ceres' interior evolution
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Specifically, the study explored linear features – the chains of pits and small, secondary craters common on Ceres. Secondary crater chains, the most common of the linear features, are long strings of circular depressions created by fragments thrown out of large impact craters as they formed on Ceres. Scully said the study’s greatest challenge was differentiating between secondary crater chains and pit chains. The material may have flowed upward from Ceres’ interior because it is less dense than surrounding materials. The Dawn mission is managed by JPL for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.