Over the weekend, the Dawn probe swooped down to a distance of 4,500 miles (7,200km) above Ceres' surface to capture the bright spots in high resolution.

The image confirms earlier observations that the brights spots, originally thought to come as a pair, are in fact a series of several smaller lights grouped together.

Experts, however, are still at a loss to explain the composition and source of the bright spots, with theories ranging from salt flats to giant ice volcanoes.

They also have no idea why they exist on just one part of the planet, or why they are grouped in this way.

'Dawn scientists can now conclude that the intense brightness of these spots is due to the reflection of sunlight by highly reflective material on the surface, possibly ice,' said Christopher Russell, principal investigator for the Dawn mission from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Despite still being baffled by its nature, these images offer scientists new insights into crater shapes and sizes, and a host of other intriguing geological features on the surface.

Salt flats or ice seem to be the predominant theories at the moment, with the bright spots appearing to reflect incoming sunlight towards the spacecraft's cameras.

-Daily mail