On the possible origin of the asteroid (1) Ceres

TL;DR

This paper hypothesizes that asteroid Ceres may have originated as a former satellite of a disrupted planet near 5 AU from the Sun, explaining its icy composition and water vapor emissions.

Contribution

It proposes a novel hypothesis that Ceres originated as a satellite of a disrupted planet, supported by semi-empirical reasoning and comparison with other planetary bodies.

Findings

Ceres exhibits localized water vapor sources.

Ceres's composition differs significantly from Vesta.

The hypothesis explains Ceres's icy mantle and water vapor emissions.

Abstract

The last three decades the asteroid (1) Ceres is an object of the intensive ground-and space-based observations. A new unusual contributing to these studies represents the recent detection of localized sources of water vapour releasing from its surface at a rate about 6 kg s-1 (K\"uppers et al 2014). A drastic distinction between asteroid (1) Ceres and nearest the large asteroid (4) Vesta in terms of their composition and appearance emphasizes an urgent state of a problem of the possible origin of Ceres in the main asteroid belt. By analogy with the early assumptions of some well-known astronomers of Mercury and Mars as the escaped satellites of their host planets we have put forward and semi-empirically have justified a hypothesis for the plausible origin of Ceres as the satellite of a disrupted planet in the past orbited the Sun of ~ 5 AU. The orbital location of this host of Ceres beyond the snow line of the Solar System explains a formation the icy mantle of Ceres, which appears may be a water vapour source.