--- title: Ceres: NASA Wants You to Guess the Cause of Mysterious Bright Spots description: NASA has asked the public to vote for the likeliest cause of mysterious bright spots on the surface of Ceres canonical: https://time.com/3837917/nasa-ceres-bright-spots/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-28T12:27:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:04.617Z article:section: Science og:title: NASA Wants You to Guess the Cause of Mysterious Bright Spots on a Dwarf Planet og:description: Ice? Geysers? Volcanos? og:url: https://time.com/3837917/nasa-ceres-bright-spots/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aee29d0a4ec585c/6987ed28524fc0ff1fdf073d/ceres-nasa.jpg?branch=production&width=844&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 844 og:image:height: 475 og:image:alt: ceres-nasa og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: NASA Wants You to Guess the Cause of Mysterious Bright Spots on a Dwarf Planet twitter:description: Ice? Geysers? Volcanos? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8aee29d0a4ec585c/6987ed28524fc0ff1fdf073d/ceres-nasa.jpg?branch=production&width=844&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # NASA Wants You to Guess the Cause of Mysterious Bright Spots on a Dwarf Planet > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: How to Hunt for New Earths [Watch (HLS stream): How to Hunt for New Earths](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HM12kMGN.m3u8) (5:05)  _Published 2013-04-18. At the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawai'i, planet hunters focus their powerful telescope to search for earth-like exoplanets._  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Apr 28, 2015 12:27 PM UTC  NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Apr 28, 2015 12:27 PM UTC NASA has asked the public to vote on the likeliest cause of mysterious bright spots on the surface of Ceres, a dwarf planet that it recently captured in mystifying photographs. The space agency first captured images of Ceres after the Dawn spacecraft entered its orbit in March. Ceres is the largest body, measuring 590 miles across, in an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. “Even before the spacecraft arrived at the dwarf planet, images revealed mysterious bright spots that captivated scientists and observers alike,” NASA [wrote](http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/dawn/world%5Fceres/#) on a website asking the public to vote on natural causes, ranging from ice to volcanoes to salt deposits. ### PHOTOS: This Astronaut's Images of Earth Look Like Beautiful Abstract Paintings  "Harsh land. Windswept valleys in northern #Africa"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 6, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA  "Land use in South Africa, you can see where water is."—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 9, 2014. Alexander Gerst—ESA  "Irrigation in the #Sahara #Desert looks like a challenging task from up here... #BlueDot"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 28, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA  "An open history book of our planet: the #Sahara Desert"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 26, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA  "An open history book of our planet: the # Sahara Desert"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 26, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA/SIPA USA  "Close-up of gigantic Salar of Uyuni in Bolivia. You can even see the salt fields and the 'Cactus Island'."—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 15, 2014. Alexander Gerst—ESA  "The #Moon was still behind the horizon. A #FataMorgana of atmospherical refraction #BlueDot"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 14, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA/SIPA USA  "When I took this photo, I was sure these are clouds. But now I'm not so sure... #BlueDot"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 7, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA  "Probably a river in Kazakhstan or slightly west of it."—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 29, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA/SIPA USA  "An open history book of our planet: the #Sahara Desert"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 26, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA  "Human-made fires in East Africa. Can you spot them?"—Alexander Gerst via Twitter on July 9, 2014 Alexander Gerst—ESA ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3837917/nasa-ceres-bright-spots/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3837917/nasa-ceres-bright-spots/"},"headline":"NASA Wants You to Guess the Cause of Mysterious Bright Spots on a Dwarf Planet","datePublished":"2015-04-28T12:27:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:41:04.617Z","description":"Ice? Geysers? 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