Talking about Largest Asteroid Might Contain More Fresh Water than Earth

Full Story Largest Asteroid Might Contain More Fresh Water than Earth

By Bjorn Carey
SPACE.com Staff Writer

The largest known asteroid could contain more fresh water than Earth and looks like our planet in other ways, according to a new study that further blurs the line between planets and large space rocks.

Astronomers took 267 images of asteroid Ceres using the Hubble Space Telescope. From these images and subsequent computer simulations, they suggest Ceres may have a rocky inner core and a thin, dusty outer crust.

A team led by Peter Thomas of Cornell University said today that Ceres is nearly spherical, which suggests that gravity controls its shape. Also, the asteroid’s non-uniform shape indicates that material is not evenly distributed throughout the inside.

 

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