Geologic constraints on the origin of red organic-rich material on Ceres

Abstract

The geologic context of red organic-rich materials (ROR) found across an elongated 200 km region on Ceres is evaluated with spectral information from the multispectral framing camera (FC) and the visible and near-infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR) of Dawn. Discrete areas of ROR materials are found to be associated with small fresh craters less than a few hundred meters in diameter. Regions with the highest concentration of discrete ROR areas exhibit a weaker diffuse background of ROR materials. The observed pattern could be consistent with a field of secondary impacts, but no appropriate primary crater has been found. Both endogenic and exogenic sources are being considered for these distinctive organic materials.