Occator Crater, Ceres: Sodium Carbonate-Dominated Bright Center Reveals Hydrothermal Activity and Subsurface Water

To the point

Occator Crater’s bright center on Ceres is dominated by sodium carbonate, indicating hydrothermal activity and a warmer interior with possible recent liquid water, while ammonia-bearing salts link Ceres to icy outer-solar-system material and magnesium sulfate is now less favored; Dawn data also suggest most large craters cut deeply into a subsurface that is likely no more than about 40% ice, implying a water-influenced interior and episodic surface hydrothermal activity with astrobiology implications, as interpreted by Maria Cristina De Sanctis and Carol Raymond.