NASA's Dawn spacecraft captures sunlit North Pole of Ceres

NASA's Dawn spacecraft captured images of sunlit North Pole of Ceres, it has been reported.

After spending more than a month in orbit on the dark side of dwarf planet Ceres, NASA's Dawn spacecraft has captured several views of the sunlit north pole of this intriguing world. These images were taken on April 10 from a distance of 21,000 miles, and they represent the highest-resolution views of Ceres to date.

Dawn arrived at Ceres on March 6, marking the first time a spacecraft has orbited a dwarf planet.

Ceres, with an average diameter of about 590 miles, is the largest body in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Dawn has been using its ion propulsion system to maneuver to its first science orbit at Ceres, which it will reach on April 23. The spacecraft would remain at a distance of 8,400 miles from the dwarf planet until May 9.

Afterward, it would make its way to lower orbits.