![ceres-nasa](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ceres-nasa.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
By Dan Kedmey
NASA has asked the public to vote on the likeliest cause of mysterious bright spots on the surface of Ceres, a dwarf planet that it recently captured in mystifying photographs.
The space agency first captured images of Ceres after the Dawn spacecraft entered its orbit in March. Ceres is the largest body, measuring 590 miles across, in an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
“Even before the spacecraft arrived at the dwarf planet, images revealed mysterious bright spots that captivated scientists and observers alike,” NASA wrote on a website asking the public to vote on natural causes, ranging from ice to volcanoes to salt deposits.
PHOTOS: This Astronaut's Images of Earth Look Like Beautiful Abstract Paintings
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![Close-up of gigantic Salar of Uyuni in Bolivia. You can even see the salt fields and the 'Cactus Island'](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/astronaut-alexander-gerst-space-station-photography-02.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Nasa: Alexander Gerst pictures from International Space Station The #Moon was still behind the horizon. A #FataMorgana of atmospherical refraction #BlueDot](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/astronaut-alexander-gerst-space-station-photography-13.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
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![Nasa: Astronaut Alexander Gerst pictures Nasa: Astronaut Alexander Gerst pictures](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/astronaut-alexander-gerst-space-station-photography-11.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
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![Human-made fires in East Africa. Can you spot them?](https://cdn.statically.io/img/api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/astronaut-alexander-gerst-space-station-photography-08.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
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