New photos from NASA's space probe Dawn, sent from the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres, have revealed some new details that have researchers positively puzzled. Of particular interest is the strange pyramid-shaped mountain with a flat top, and the bright, striped area seen in this photo.

"What we're looking at is something we've never seen anywhere else in the entire Solar System," said Ralf Jaumann, principle investigator on the Mars Express at the German Center for Air and Spaceflight (DLR) in Cologne.

The "Dawn" is now only 1,470 kilometers above Ceres's surface, researchers at the DLR said, much closer than its last observation orbit at 4,400 kilometers, which means the probe can transmit pictures with far greater detail.

mes (dpa)