What do you think the bright spots on Ceres are?

[L. McNish]

Neon - definitely lots of bright Neon light pollution.

[jack358]

I think they are left-over bits of the pulverized meteors that crashed into Ceres--much like when you throw a snowball at something and part of the snowball stays at the point of impact.

[sonny]

The bright areas along zones having the same sun angle appear to have different brightness.
This may mean the bright spots have different ages rather than different compositions.
Solar wind will probably cause all the spots to disappear after time to be replaced by other newer impacts.

[FelipeCarvalho]

I suspect they may have more than one cause... recent impacts exposing fresh icy material from beneath a dusty surface is a likely cause for at least some of the bright spots. Others seem SO bright, it makes me suspect frost-covered areas around vents / geysers / ice volcanoes... and of course evidence of water vapor was observed last year, which would be consistent with these. Of course, development of longer term vents could be a response to meteor impacts?

Best one so far.

But coudn't anyone think on alien plants like the ones suggested by http://www.ted.com/talks/freeman_dyson_ ... lar_system

[jmc]

I think other asteroids are throwing snowballs at Ceres.

[Pluto Nium]

Light pollution: Greenhouses

[quietschi]

Alien mining activities

[mnvikings0]

CO2 most likely, possibly water from a small comet impact

[System 10011010]

GOLD!

[Alurijon]

I think it is ice.
Perhaps the reflection comes from a very smooth surface resulting from resolidification of molten water after a meteorite impact on the surface

[CaptainAmerica]

It's exposed ground, regolith has been blasted away by a large mothership UFO taking off from the surface. I've talked to them and they confirm this answer.

[Guest]

where we go when we die

[TruckerTim]

if you notice there are a few spots that light up as the "sphere" turns.... I believe its ice.

[bingo]

Diamond mountains

[TNC]

Has anyone noticed the round empty holes that surround the bright spots. Enlarge the photo and you will see them. It's another mystery.

[sportbikepete]

Radioactive material of some type from impact with meteor?

[azu]

The bright spots are glass formed following meteorite impacts on the surface

[T. Anderson]

Revealed reflective surface from recent meteor impact definitely seems to be the most feasible, but, I just realized something that very well may or may not have already been hypothesized, if not for pure outlandishness but then again that's why these exist; what would be the odds that Ceres is in fact the frozen core of a failed 5th terrestrial body in our Solar System?

The intense reflectivity of those spots seem so oddly out of place that in a video from this article:
http://www.cnet.com/news/dwarf-planet-c ... -approach/

- upon the spots revolution to the dark side, they don't really seem to dissipate in intensity until fully away from sun light. I can imaging the iron ore of a planet's core, frozen solid and completely blanketed in dust and residual "dirt" during the coagulation period for billions of years would offer a superbly brilliant reflection if ever exposed to sunlight. Just a thought! Either that or it's a Forerunner planet.

[professor444]

its glass

[Guest]

I think the bright spots are the chemical Mercury.

[bystander]

What's the spot on World Ceres?
NASA | JPL-Caltech | Dawn