Life Possibilities On Ceres Dwarf Planet!

Recently, NASA and other space agencies have published that they have found life possibilities on Ceres Dwarf Planet! Scientists sometimes found life possibilities on such celestial bodies, which are neither planets nor moons of any planet, but they found them habitable for humans and predicted that life already exists. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union removed Pluto from the list of planets in our solar system, as it is located at the end of our solar system, which is the Kuiper belt, from the category of a planet and placed it in the category of a dwarf planet. After which, the total number of dwarf planets in our solar system increased to five.

Ceres

Contents:

1. History of Ceres Dwarf Planet
2. Space Mission to Ceres 
3. Life Possibilities on Dwarf Planet Ceres
4. Summary and FAQ

History of Ceres Dwarf Planet

Apart from Pluto, the dwarf planets present in our solar system are Eris, Haumea, Makemake, and Ceres. Of these, Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake—four dwarf planets—are present in the Kuiper belt disc at the extreme end of our solar system. But the same dwarf planet Ceres is the smallest among them and is present in the asteroid belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter at the inner end of our solar system. According to scientists, this is a very unique and strange dwarf planet where they have found evidence of water, icy mountains, a liquid ocean, and an atmosphere. And for this reason, for the first time in 2007, NASA sent an orbital mission to study the asteroid belt and this dwarf planet, which was named the DAWN mission. But why is this dwarf planet so strange and special, and what did the Dawn Mission discover on this dwarf planet?

 

The story of the discovery of Ceres Discovery of Dwarf Planet Ceres

The story of Ceres' discovery is quite unique and interesting. The credit for the initial process of its discovery goes to the famous German astronomers Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe. When Kepler saw Tycho's astronomical data, he did a lot of research to understand the movement of the planets. Due to his work, he made a very important discovery, which we know today as Kepler's Law of Planetary Motion. Along with this discovery, he noticed another thing: that there is a big gap between Planet Mars and Jupiter. 

But still, no one paid attention to the matter of the planet between Mars and Jupiter, nor was any action taken on it. But in 1781, William Herskill discovered a new planet, which we know today as Uranus, and with this, the search mission gained a lot of momentum. But seeing the small size of Ceres and other large asteroids like those made of rocky materials, scientists also placed Ceres in the category of an asteroid. 

For many years, Ceres was called an asteroid, but Ceres was so different from its neighboring asteroids and so big that in 2006, scientists declared it a dwarf planet. Ceres is the largest object present in the asteroid belt, whose diameter is about 950 kilometers. Apart from Ceres, giant asteroids like Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea are also present in the asteroid belt. Ceres completes one revolution around the sun in approximately 4.6 Earth years and takes 9 hours to rotate on its axis.

 

It is believed that Ceres was formed around 4.5 billion years ago with the formation of our solar system. Many theories and speculations have been made regarding its formation. According to one theory, due to gravity, the rotating gases and dust particles gathered at one place, and with this, the dwarf planet Ceres was formed. Scientists have mentioned Ceres in the category of a protoplanet, which means that it started forming as a planet in the starting stages of its formation, but the process of its formation could not be completed. 

That means you can also call it an incomplete planet. The credit for this failure goes to the strong gravitational force of the planet Jupiter, which stopped Ceres from becoming a complete planet. The pieces left in the formation of the planet Ceres settled at the same place and started revolving around the sun, which we know today as the asteroid belt.

DAWN Mission to Ceres

Space Mission to Ceres

In 2007, NASA launched a mission named DAWN to study the asteroid belt and this dwarf planet. After traveling about 2.8 billion kilometers, it entered the orbit of the second-largest object in the asteroid belt, Vesta, in 2011. He studied this rocky asteroid for about a year. In 2012, this spacecraft left for its second target, dwarf planet Ceres. After traveling a long distance of about 4.9 billion kilometers, this mission entered the orbit of Ceres in 2015, and its primary mission was completed in 2016. 

Discoveries made by the Dawn Mission Discoveries of the Dawn Mission During this period, it gathered much important information about Ceres' global shape, density, morphology, mineralogy, elements found in it, their structure, gravity, and soil. From which we came to know that even though Ceres is an icy world today, liquid oceans must have been present on its surface many years ago. And scientists believe that even today, oceans of liquid water may exist beneath its icy surface.

 

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On November 1, 2018, the Dawn Spacecraft's fuel completely ran out, after which it was officially retired. At present, this spacecraft is moving in an uncontrolled orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres. And scientists estimate that it will continue to revolve around Ceres like this for the next 50 years. After which, it will collide with it and be destroyed. Dawn discovered water on Ceres. Water was discovered on Ceres by Dawn. The most strange and interesting thing about this dwarf planet is that, during its study, scientists have found evidence of water on it. 

According to a study in 1991, it was found that there are some signs of water in the form of hydroxide on this planet. It was observed that 30 percent of the total mass of this planet is ice. Scientists have predicted that water may be present on Ceres in the form of liquid under its surface. European Space Agency scientists have also found water molecules in ceres. Accordingly, Ceres produces 6 kilograms of water vapor on its surface almost every second. Scientists discovered that there may be two main sources of water vapor on Ceres: first, water vapor is coming out of icy volcanoes, or it is converted into direct water vapor through the process of converting solid ice into gas. Used to be.

 

Life Possibilities on the Ceres Dwarf Planet

Finding water on any planet raises hopes that there may be possibilities for life there. To know the possibility of life on any planet, scientists must first detect water there. Ceres is also one of the places in our solar system where scientists have found evidence of life. Ceres has one thing that many other planets do not have: water. Because here on Earth, water is very essential for life, it is possible that, with water and some other conditions, life can be possible there. If we talk about the life forms present there, then very small microbes similar to bacteria may be present on Ceres.

 

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Summary and FAQ

It is possible that life exists already and is in its early stages. May be NASA or any other space agency will launch a space mission specific to studying the Ceres dwarf planet. We have given complete information about the dwarf planet Ceres. I hope you have learned a lot from this article. Here are the answers to some questions that could arise in your mind:

1. Is it possible to live on Ceres?

Ceres have what most planets don't have: water molecules. Thus, it is possible that life-like microbes exist on Ceres.

2. Does the Ceres Dwarf Planet have oxygen?

Oxygen is present on Ceres, but in very low amounts.

3. Is Ceres bigger than Earth's moon?

Earth's Moon Lunar is much bigger than Ceres Dwarf Planet.

4. Can humans land on Ceres?

Ceres, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, has been the target of robotic exploration, with NASA's Dawn spacecraft providing valuable data. Human exploration of Ceres remains a topic for future consideration and planning, but it has not been prioritized in current space exploration initiatives.

5. How long is a year on Ceres?

A year on Ceres, the dwarf planet located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is approximately 4.6 Earth years. Ceres has an orbital period of about 4.6 Earth years as it completes one orbit around the Sun