The Dawn spacecraft was sent out to the asteroid belt, in 2007, to observe the protoplanets Vesta and Ceres. The latter was first classified as a planet, then degraded to an asteroid and is now referred to as a dwarf-planet. Scientists want to learn more about the structure of these objects, helping them better understand the formation of planets, like our Earth.
Dawn is now orbiting Ceres after a 5 billion kilometer (3 billion mile) journey. The images, received from the probe, have shown strange shiny spots on the surface of the dwarf-planet and a six kilometer (four mile) high elevation that researchers cannot explain. The “Lonely Mountain” does not show any typical signs of geological activity around it, making its formation a mystery. In addition scientists can yet not explain its shiny white surface.
![](https://images.assettype.com/tgdaily/2016-09/b4d107c0-e35c-45f3-a70c-8fe3579b69ef/ceres_mountain.jpg)
There have been lots of theories, regarding the shiny spots, since they have been discovered. Many believe they are ice or salt but how they got there would still be a mystery. NASA scientists have turned to the public for ideas and are taking the incoming suggestions seriously, maybe less those of alien bases under the surface.