Ceres

Ceres is the largest asteroid in the main Asteroid Belt. It was classified as a 'dwarf planet' in 2006, alound with Pluto & Eris. Ceres was discoved by the Italian astronomer (and monk) Guiseppe Piazzi.




The diameter of Ceres is about 975 km (605 miles - about the size in the picture). It is much bigger than the other objects & bodies of the main asteroid belt & contains about a third of the belt's total mass. It orbits the Sun once every 4.6 Earth years. As you already know, its orbit lies between Mars & Jupiter, because it is part of the asteroid belt. A day on Ceres is about 9 hours on Earth, because the asteroid turns on its axis once every 9 hours.