PARIS - The dwarf planet Ceres - long believed to be a barren space rock - is an ocean world with reservoirs of sea water beneath its surface, the results of a major exploration mission showed on Monday .
They focused on the 20-million-year-old Occator crater and determined that there is an"extensive reservoir" of brine beneath its surface. Maria Cristina De Sanctis, from Rome's Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica said hydrohalite was a clear sign Ceres' used to have sea water. This suggests that the brine may still be ascending from the planet's interior, something De Sanctis said could have profound implications in future studies."We know that these minerals are all essential for the emergence of life." Writing in an accompanying comment article, Julie Castillo-Rogez, from the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said the discovery of hydrohalite was a"smoking gun" for ongoing water activity.
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