Bright Spots on the dwarf planet Ceres have been a matter of debate among scientists for a long time. In January this year, Dawn spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) produced the view of Ceres which showed odd-looking white spots shinning on the surface of the dwarf planet.

On May 16, the spacecraft took a series of pictures of the planet. In the image, the scientists saw the brightest spots on Ceres, which have been mystery for them. According to reports, the image was taken from a distance of about 4,500 miles.

Recently, Christopher Russell, principal investigator for the Dawn mission from the University of California, said, "Dawn scientists can now conclude that the intense brightness of these spots is due to the reflection of sunlight by highly reflective material on the surface, possibly ice".

The US space agency's Dawn probe, which was launched in 2007, reached Ceres in March this year. It was the first time when a space probe orbited a dwarf planet. Before reaching Ceres, Dawn explored giant asteroid Vesta for more than one year. As per the space agency, the probe is the only probe that has orbited its two extraterrestrial targets.

While proving information about the probe, the space agency stated that the probe has been scheduled to remain at a distance of about 2,700 miles from Ceres until June 30th. After that, it will make its way to lower orbits.

The mission has been controlled by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for Science Mission Directorate of NASA. The mission also includes partners like the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the German Aerospace Center and the Italian Space Agency.