NASA clicks closest ever snap of dwarf planet

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has acquired the latest and closest-yet snapshot of the mysterious world of dwarf planet Ceres.

At a resolution of 14 kms per pixel, the pictures represent the sharpest images to date of Ceres.

After the spacecraft arrives and enters into orbit around the dwarf planet, it will study the intriguing world in great detail.

Ceres, with a diameter of 950 kms, is the largest object in the main asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter.

Dawn's mission to Vesta and Ceres is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Programme, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.