Geologic constraints on the origin of red organic-rich material on Ceres

The geologic context of red organic‐rich materials (ROR) found across an elongated 200 km region on Ceres is evaluated with spectral information from the multispectral framing camera (FC) and the visible and near‐infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR) of Dawn. Discrete areas of ROR materials are found to be associated with small fresh craters less than a few hundred meters in diameter. Regions with the highest concentration of discrete ROR areas exhibit a weaker diffuse background of ROR materials. The observed pattern could be consistent with a field of secondary impacts, but no appropriate primary crater has been found. Both endogenic and exogenic sources are being considered for these distinctive organic materials.