Earlier, astronomers had their first glimpses of Ceres. According to reports, the dwarf planet is a large piece of rock in asteroid belt that is present between planets Mars and Jupiter. NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which has been studying Ceres from a long time, captured images of the dwarf planet. The images revealed two huge and mysterious bright spots on the surface of Ceres.

Since then, astronomers did not know about the bright spots. There are several theories about the mysterious spots. Officials of the United States space agency have no idea what actually the spots are. As per some theories, the spots could be volcanoes, while some theories have suggested that they are salt deposits. To know what the spots are actually, NASA has started a poll where an individual can vote on what the mysterious spots are.

In addition, the space agency’s Dawn spacecraft has been continuously exploring the dwarf plane to discover the real answers about the weird spots. After about eight years, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft settled into orbit around the dwarf planet. From April, the spacecraft has started collecting scientific data about Ceres. According to the reports, soon, closer photographs and surface analysis using a spectrometer and gamma ray detector will helps astronomers to reveal what the weird bright spots are.

In 2014, astronomers at the European Space Agency (ESA) peered at the dwarf planet with the Herschel telescope. They found that Ceres is actually surrounded by a thin layer of water vapor. Their determination means that the planet may hold ice water beneath its surface. According to a number of scientists, icy moons have the potential to host alien life, so they are eager to get a closer look at Ceres.

Scientists have also decided to use instruments on Dawn to reconstruct a map of Ceres' gravity field.