title: Localized aliphatic organic material on the surface of Ceres.
abstract: Organic compounds occur in some chondritic meteorites, and their signatures on solar system bodies have been sought for decades. Spectral signatures of organics have not been unambiguously identified on the surfaces of asteroids, whereas they have been detected on cometary nuclei. Data returned by the Visible and InfraRed Mapping Spectrometer on board the Dawn spacecraft show a clear detection of an organic absorption feature at 3.4 micrometers on dwarf planet Ceres. This signature is characteristic of aliphatic organic matter and is mainly localized on a broad region of ~1000 square kilometers close to the ~50-kilometer Ernutet crater. The combined presence on Ceres of ammonia-bearing hydrated minerals, water ice, carbonates, salts, and organic material indicates a very complex chemical environment, suggesting favorable environments to prebiotic chemistry.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: M C
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3463-4437
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: De Sanctis
authors.affiliation: Earth Planetary and Space Sciences, University of California-Los Angeles, 603 Charles Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567, USA.|Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6671-2690
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ammannito
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1410, USA.
authors.forename: H Y
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3749-7711
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: McSween
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4996-0099
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raponi
authors.affiliation: Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA.|Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2548-3291
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marchi
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1631-4314
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Capaccioni
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: M T
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9814-9588
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Capria
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: F G
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0391-6407
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Carrozzo
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7498-5207
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ciarniello
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3911-7340
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fonte
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Formisano
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9140-3977
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frigeri
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6983-6346
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giardino
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1797-2741
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Longobardo
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Magni
authors.affiliation: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
authors.forename: L A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0537-9975
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: McFadden
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9101-6774
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Palomba
authors.affiliation: Brown University, Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Pieters
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4002-2434
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tosi
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, 00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4190-6592
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zambon
authors.affiliation: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA.
authors.forename: C A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4213-8097
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Raymond
authors.affiliation: Earth Planetary and Space Sciences, University of California-Los Angeles, 603 Charles Young Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567, USA.
authors.forename: C T
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1639-8298
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Russell