The Dwarf Planet Ceres

A Hubble Space Telescope view of dwarf planet Ceres

Some basic facts about Ceres

Did you know that:

• Ceres was the first asteroid to be discovered. It was discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi in January 1801.
• Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt.
• Ceres is the first and only asteroid promoted to dwarf planet status. This occurred in 2006 when the International Astronomical Union voted to add this category as a consequence of reaching a final determination as to the planetary status of Pluto.

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