Organic compounds have been discovered on the surface of the dwarf-planet Ceres. The Visual and Infrared Spectrometer (VIR) on NASA's Dawn spacecraft detected the compounds while in orbit around the minor planet. The team investigating the data suggests that the organics were formed on Ceres, indicating the planet has a more complex chemical history than previously assumed.
The organics detected are aliphatic compounds – chain molecules primarily comprised of carbon and hydrogen atoms. They were found moving across the south-western floor of a 50 km-wide crater called Ernutet, as well as in patches to the crater's north-west. Organic compounds are volatile and would be easily destroyed by the intense heat of an asteroid impact. Also, their distribution across the surface does not seem to match with the ejecta from any specific crater.
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