 Dawn revealed a large number of craters with low relief , indicating that they lie over a relatively soft surface , probably of water ice . One crater , with extremely low relief , is 270 km ( 170 mi ) in diameter , reminiscent of large , flat craters on <unk> and <unk> . An unexpectedly large number of Cererian craters have central pits , and many have central peaks . Several bright spots have been observed by Dawn , the brightest spot ( " Spot 5 " ) located in the middle of an 80 @-@ kilometer ( 50 mi ) crater called <unk> . From images taken of Ceres on 4 May 2015 , the secondary bright spot was revealed to actually be a group of scattered bright areas , possibly as many as ten . These bright features have an albedo of approximately 40 % that are caused by a substance on the surface , possibly ice or salts , reflecting sunlight . A haze periodically appears above Spot 5 , the best known bright spot , supporting the hypothesis that some sort of outgassing or <unk> ice formed the bright spots . In March 2016 , Dawn found definitive evidence of water molecules on the surface of Ceres at <unk> crater . <unk> states : " This water could be bound up in minerals or , alternatively , it could take the form of ice . " 
