In a surprise discovery, the dwarf planet Ceres has been found to contain an ocean of brine water beneath its rocky surface. Located between Mars and Jupiter in the asteroid belt, the curious world (with a diameter of 580 miles) at one time was thought to have a barren landscape.
NASA's Dawn spacecraft located evidence of the brine in the large Occator Crater, which is also where Ceres' enigmatic bright spots (possibly reflections of solar light bouncing off salts or ice) were observed.
On Monday, several scientific journals published study results about the dwarf planet (which was first sighted in 1801 and is also classified as an asteroid). "We can now say that Ceres is a sort of ocean world, as are some of Saturn's and Jupiter's moons," one of the studies authors, Maria Cristina De Sanctis, shared with AFP. Pictured above: briny deposits in Occator Crater, reddish in color. More on the findings at Space.com.