10 Facts about Ceres

Sunday, November 15th 2015. | Astronomy

Facts about Ceres talk about the largest object in the asteroid belt. It is a dwarf planet located between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter. Within the orbit of Neptune, Ceres is considered as the largest one in the minor planet for it has the estimated diameter at 587 miles or 945 km. In the solar system, Ceres is considered as the 33rd largest known body. Let’s find out other interesting facts about Ceres below:

Facts about Ceres 1: the mass

The mass of Ceres is around one third of the mass of the whole objects in the asteroid belt. This dwarf planet is composed of ice and rock.

Facts about Ceres 2: Ceres and earth

The magnitude of Ceres from earth is around 6.7 to 9.3. It is not easy to spot Ceres using naked eyes because it is very dim. But people can spot it if the sky is dark.

Ceres Picture

Facts about Ceres 3: Giuseppe Piazzi

On 1st January 1801, Giuseppe Piazzi discovered Ceres as the first asteroid at Palermo. In 1850s, Ceres was called an asteroid even though actually it was recognized as a planet for the first time.

Facts about Ceres 4: the surface of Ceres

Under the layer of ice, the experts believe that it has internal ocean of liquid water. The top surface of Ceres might be the combination of hydrated minerals and water ice. The minerals can be clay and carbonates.

Ceres

Facts about Ceres 5: the water vapor

One of the unexpected conditions in Ceres was spotted in January 2014 where some areas in Ceres experienced the water vapor. Most large bodies found in asteroid belts do not experience water vapor.

Facts about Ceres 6: the spacecraft

On 6th March 2015, the orbit of Ceres was explored by the robotic NASA spacecraft Dawn. It took several pictures which depicted the cratered surface on Ceres.

Ceres Image

Facts about Ceres 7: the release of the true color portrait

The true color portrait of Ceres was finally released by NASA in October 2015. Find out facts about black dwarf stars here.

Facts about Ceres 8: the name

The discoverer of Ceres proposed the name Cerere Ferdinandea. It was taken from the name of King Ferdinand of Sicily and Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres. The name Ferdinandea was not accepted. Then it was called Ceres.