The missing large impact craters on Ceres

Marchi, S.; Ermakov, A.; Raymond, C. A.; Fu, R. R.; O’Brien, D. P.; Bland, M. T.; Ammannito, E.; Sanctis, M. C. De; Bowling, T. J.; Schenk, P.; Scully, J. E. C.; Buczkowski, D. L.; Williams, D. A.; Hiesinger, H.; Russell, C. T.

doi:10.1038/ncomms12257

Cited by 96 publications

(141 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Being prominent in the albedo map, it is not recognized in both color and phase curve slope maps. Marchi et al (2016) proposed Vendimia Planitia to be a ancient impact basin. While slightly smaller than the proposed basin, the spectrophotometric properties of the large bright feature suggest it is a palimpsest, in agreement with the impact basin hypothesis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7 and 10). It is somewhat smaller than the basin outlined by Marchi et al (2016), and the albedo map may delineate the extent of the impact basin more clearly than the topography map. Two other basin candidates outlined by the authors (Planitia B and C) are not recognized in our maps.…”

Section: Phase Curve Slopementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Juling, a neighbor of Kupalo crater, is known for having an unusual red colored crater floor. Marchi et al (2016) proposed Vendimia Planitia to be a large, ancient impact basin on basis of the surface topography. The large, almost perfectly circular, albedo feature inside this area is clearly recognizable in Fig.…”

Section: Phase Curve Slopementioning

confidence: 99%

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Resolved spectrophotometric properties of the Ceres surface from Dawn Framing Camera images

Schröder

Mottola

Carsenty

et al. 2017

Icarus

100

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We present a global spectrophotometric characterization of the Ceres surface using Dawn Framing Camera (FC) images. We identify the photometric model that yields the best results for photometrically correcting images. Corrected FC images acquired on approach to Ceres were assembled into global maps of albedo and color. Generally, albedo and color variations on Ceres are muted. The albedo map is dominated by a large, circular feature in Vendimia Planitia, known from HST images (Li et al., 2006), and dotted by smaller bright features mostly associated with fresh-looking craters. The dominant color variation over the surface is represented by the presence of "blue" material in and around such craters, which has a negative spectral slope over the visible wavelength range when compared to average terrain. We also mapped variations of the phase curve by employing an exponential photometric model, a technique previously applied to asteroid Vesta . The surface of Ceres scatters light differently from Vesta in the sense that the ejecta of several fresh-looking craters may be physically smooth rather than rough. High albedo, blue color, and physical smoothness all appear to be indicators of youth. The blue color may result from the desiccation of ejected material that is similar to the phyllosilicates/water ice mixtures in the experiments of Poch et al. (2016). The physical smoothness of some blue terrains would be consistent with an initially liquid condition, perhaps as a consequence of impact melting of subsurface water ice. We find red terrain (positive spectral slope) near Ernutet crater, where De Sanctis et al. (2017) detected organic material. The spectrophotometric properties of the large Vendimia Planitia feature suggest it is a palimpsest, consistent with the Marchi et al. (2016) impact basin hypothesis. The central bright area in Occator crater, Cerealia Facula, is the brightest on Ceres with an average visual normal albedo of about 0.6 at a resolution of 1.3 km per pixel (six times Ceres average). The albedo of fresh, bright material seen inside this area in the highest resolution images (35 m per pixel) is probably around unity. Cerealia Facula has an unusually steep phase function, which may be due to unresolved topography, high surface roughness, or large average particle size. It has a strongly red spectrum whereas the neighboring, less-bright, Vinalia Faculae are neutral in color. We find no evidence for a diurnal ground fog-type haze in Occator as described by Nathues et al. (2015). We can neither reproduce their findings using the same images, nor confirm them using higher resolution images. FC images have not yet offered direct evidence for present sublimation in Occator.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Phase Curve Slopementioning

confidence: 99%

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Resolved spectrophotometric properties of the Ceres surface from Dawn Framing Camera images

Schröder

Mottola

Carsenty

et al. 2017

Icarus

100

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“…Investigation of Ceres' crater size frequency distribution shows that craters larger than 100–150 km in diameter are missing on Ceres' surface when compared to predicted impact rates or the cratering record on asteroid Vesta (Marchi et al, ). Different mechanisms for crater removal have been discussed including resurfacing by widespread cryovolcanism and viscous relaxation (Bland et al, ; Marchi et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ceres Crater Degradation Inferred From Concentric Fracturing

et al. 2019

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The dwarf planet Ceres exhibits a collection of craters that possess concentric fractures beyond the crater rim. These fractures typically range from a few hundred meters to a few kilometers in length and are less than 300 m wide. They occur preferentially on elevated regions around the crater and are located less than a crater radius beyond the rim. In total there are 17 craters exhibiting concentric fracturing beyond the rim. They are located in the midlatitudes. The craters' diameters range between 20 and 270 km. We investigate the concentric fractures of three craters (Azacca, Ikapati, and Occator) in detail and suggest that the formation of such concentric fractures can be explained by a shallow (<10‐km) low‐viscosity (~1020‐Pa·s) subsurface layer extending underneath the crater and its surroundings. Finite element modeling of such a scenario applied to a typical concentrically fractured crater of 50‐km diameter implies that the depth of the low‐viscosity layer is comparable to the crater depth and the layer does not extend to the surface. Given that not every crater of comparable size on Ceres exhibits concentric fractures, it is also suggested that these conditions are only met locally and may be related to the surface temperature. Correlations of concentrically fractured craters with other volatile related features, such as pitted terrains and floor fracturing, suggest that the low‐viscosity subsurface layer may be enriched in ice.

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“…We computed the total mass delivered to the surface over the lifetime of Ceres (4.5 Gyr) using a recent collisional model (81). Collisions are stochastic, and large impacts may dominate the mass delivered.…”

Section: Estimates Of Exogenic Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extensive water ice within Ceres’ aqueously altered regolith: Evidence from nuclear spectroscopy

Prettyman

Yamashita

Toplis

et al. 2017

Science

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188

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The surface elemental composition of dwarf planet Ceres constrains its regolith ice content, aqueous alteration processes, and interior evolution. Using nuclear spectroscopy data acquired by NASA’s Dawn mission, we determined the concentrations of elemental hydrogen, iron, and potassium on Ceres. The data show that surface materials were processed by the action of water within the interior. The non-icy portion of Ceres’ carbon-bearing regolith contains similar amounts of hydrogen to those present in aqueously altered carbonaceous chondrites; however, the concentration of iron on Ceres is lower than in the aforementioned chondrites. This allows for the possibility that Ceres experienced modest ice-rock fractionation, resulting in differences between surface and bulk composition. At mid-to-high latitudes, the regolith contains high concentrations of hydrogen, consistent with broad expanses of water ice, confirming theoretical predictions that ice can survive for billions of years just beneath the surface.

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The missing large impact craters on Ceres

Cited by 96 publications

References 35 publications

Resolved spectrophotometric properties of the Ceres surface from Dawn Framing Camera images

Resolved spectrophotometric properties of the Ceres surface from Dawn Framing Camera images

Ceres Crater Degradation Inferred From Concentric Fracturing

Extensive water ice within Ceres’ aqueously altered regolith: Evidence from nuclear spectroscopy

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