Ceres likely holds a briny residual ocean under its crust
Dawn’s gravity and chemistry maps of Ceres point to a soft, salty layer or residual brine still lingering beneath a rocky-icy crust — not a global Europa-style ocean, but enough liquid to reshape the interior.
Bright deposits in Occator crater and hydrated minerals elsewhere hint that brines once rose toward the surface. Heat from formation and some radionuclides could keep pockets mushy longer than a tiny world “should.”
Ceres blurs asteroid and planet stories. A dwarf planet in the main belt with leftover water shows that ocean worlds are not only for giant-planet moons.
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