Discovery
In the years between the acceptance of heliocentrism in the 18th century and the discovery of Neptune in 1846, several astronomers argued … See more

The rotation period of Ceres (the Cererian day) is 9 hours and 4 minutes; the small equatorial crater of Kait is selected as its prime meridian. Ceres has an axial tilt of 4°, small enough for its polar regions to contain permanently shadowed craters that are expected … See more

In 2017, Dawn confirmed that Ceres has a transient atmosphere of water vapour. Hints of an atmosphere had appeared in early 2014, when the Herschel Space Observatory detected … See more

Although Ceres is not as actively discussed as a potential home for microbial extraterrestrial life as Mars, Europa See more

Ceres follows an orbit between Mars and Jupiter, near the middle of the asteroid belt, with an orbital period (year) of 4.6 Earth years. Compared to other planets and dwarf planets, Ceres's orbit is moderately tilted relative to that of Earth; its See more

Ceres is the largest asteroid in the main asteroid belt. It has been classified as a C‑type or carbonaceous asteroid and, due to the presence of clay minerals, as a G-type asteroid. … See more

Ceres is a surviving protoplanet that formed 4.56 billion years ago; alongside Pallas and Vesta, one of only three remaining in the inner Solar System, with the rest either merging to form terrestrial planets, being shattered in collisions or being ejected by … See more