Dwarf
planet Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt
between Mars and Jupiter and the only dwarf planet located
in the inner solar system. It was the first member of
the asteroid belt to be discovered when Giuseppe Piazzi
spotted it in 1801. And when Dawn arrived in 2015, Ceres
became the first dwarf planet to receive a visit from
a spacecraft.
Called
an asteroid for many years, Ceres is so much bigger
and so different from its rocky neighbors that scientists
classified it as a dwarf planet in 2006. Even though
Ceres comprises 25 percent of the asteroid belt's total
mass, tiny Pluto is still 14 times more massive.
10
Things to know
1 Small world : Ceres’ radius is just 296 miles (476
km)
2 Orbits the sun
3 Seize the day
Ceres completes one rotation around its axis every 9
hours.
4 No longer an asteroid
Ceres is so much bigger and so different from its neighbors
that scientists classified it as a dwarf planet in 2006.
5 Atmosphere
6 Moonless
7 Ringless
8 First dwarf planet visited by spacecraft
9 Potential for life
Scientists would like to search for possible signs of
life on Ceres. It has something many other planets don't:
water.
10 rom the mouth of babes
Venetia Burney, just 11 years old at the time, suggested
the name Pluto in 1930.
Source
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