Ceres

Page creator: Kendall Doyle Edited by:Ben Smith Edited by: Dillon Maples

Overview: Ceres was discovered 1/1/1801 by an Italian monk named Guiseppe Piazzi. He saw a faint object through his telescope and observed it for 41 days before Ceres disappeared into the halo of the sun where it was no longer observable. The newly found planet was thought to be lost, for astronomers had a lot of trouble trying to plot out an orbit from only 41 observations. It took a mathematician named Carl Friedrich Gauss to find it again. From only three observations, Gauss could successfully predict where and when Ceres would be found again. Little did they know, Ceres actually was not a planet, but the first asteroid ever discovered. It was originally thought to be a planet because of its massive size, and it had a strong enough gravitational force to become round over time. This puts it in the category of a Dwarf Planet, though of the dwarf planets, it is the smallest. Just under 1,000 km in diameter. So is it a dwarf planet or an asteroid? It is both. Ceres resides in the main asteroid belt and orbits the sun. It is by far the largest body in the main asteroid belt. Pictures of Ceres by the __#|Hubble Telescope__ however hint at a low topography. It lacks deep bowl-shaped craters. And you would think being in the main asteroid belt that Ceres would be covered in large craters. Scientists believe that the craters are there, but just relaxed, or eroded over time, becoming less visible from afar. As you can see in the picture, Ceres appears brownish grey in color. Ceres has a rocky core, an icy watery mantle, thought to also contain ammonia, and a thin dusty crust. Ceres mass is = 9.43 ± 0.07×10 times 10^20 kg, and it's density is = 2.077 ± 0.036 g/cm3. Ceres does not have seasons because it's axial tilt is just 3%. The average temperature on Ceres is about 167 degrees Kelvin, or -106.15 degrees Celsius at its semi-major axis, and about 203 degrees Kelvin, or 34.15 degrees Celsius at its perihelion. Ceres semi-major axis is about 2.7663 AU, 2.5468 AU at its perihelion. 277 million miles away from the sun, on average. A day on Ceres is 9 hours and 6 minutes long and a year is equivalent to about 4.6 earth years. in 2007, Dawn(a NASA spacecraft) was sent to Ceres, and it brought us back some cool pictures.

Links

[[[|Pictures of Ceres]]] Entry added by:Ben Smith Spring 2018
 * Title:** Dawn images
 * Author:** National aeronautics and space administration
 * Audience:** people who want to see pictures of Ceres
 * Opinion of site:** it is a page in NASA's website, that is just a lot of pictures of Ceres
 * Reviewed:** 5-16-18

[[[|Ceres facts]]] Entry added by: Ben Smith Spring 2018
 * Title:** Ceres facts
 * Author:** none specified
 * Audience:** people who wan't a quick overview.
 * Opinion of site:** this site is well made, but simple. it tells you what you need to know about Ceres.
 * Reviewed:** 5-13-18

[[[|Ceres: the Smallest and closest dwarf planet]]] Entry added by: Ben Smith Spring 2018
 * Title:** Ceres: the smallest and closest dwarf planet
 * Author:** Nola Taylor Redd
 * Audience:** people who are interested by what the planet is like (on, and under the surface)
 * Opinion of site:** this site is good for facts about how the planets is structured, and the surface.
 * Reviewed:** 5-13-18

[[[|dwarf planet ceres]]] Entry added by: Ben Smith Spring 2018
 * Title:** dwarf planet Ceres
 * Author:** Calvin J. Hamilton
 * Audience:** people who want to know about Ceres in a more factual way.
 * Opinion of site:** I think that this site gives very good insight into Ceres history and classification.
 * Reviewed:** 5-13-18

[[[]]] Entry added by: Ben Smith Spring 2018
 * Title:** Ceres
 * Author:** none specified
 * Audience:** anyone who is curious about our solar-system,
 * Opinion of site:** this is NASA, so it is well made for all audiences, if you want the numbers or if you just want a quick overview. this is my favorite site and I recommend it.
 * Reviewed:** 5-13-18

[[[|https://space-facts.com/ceres/#facts]]]

Entry added by: Ben Smith Spring 2018
 * Title:** Ceres facts
 * Author:** none specified
 * Audience:** people who want to know about Ceres, but don't want a long read.
 * Opinion of site:** I think that this site is trustworthy and useful. I could not find a problem with the page, and all the facts seem to be correct. I like this site because it gives you what you need to know about Ceres (mostly in layman's terms). the site is easy to use and has pretty good visuals as well.
 * Reviewed:**5-12-18

[[@http://www.pagef30.com/2009/04/why-ceres-might-be-better-location-for.html]] Entry added by: Kendall Doyle Spring 2012
 * Title:** Why Ceres might be a better location for colonization than Mars
 * Author:** None specified
 * Audience:** People who are interested in facts about Ceres, and colonization of planets.
 * Opinion of site:** I believe this is a trustworthy site worth a look or two if you are interested in Ceres, and/or the colonization of planets. I found no problems with the page, or it's reliability to give factual __#|information__. In cross-checking with other sites i found no discrepancies. It has good pictures, including Ceres, it's orbit and talks about why Ceres would be better for colonization than Mars. Definitely worth a look!
 * Reviewed:** 4-16-12

[[[]]] Entry added by: Kendall Doyle Spring 2012
 * Title:** The Discovery of Ceres
 * Author:** None specified
 * Audience:** Students, teachers, curious individuals. Those who want to know how Ceres was discovered.
 * Opinion of site:** Good site, very informational for the topic. Plenty of pictures. Gives you an overview of how Ceres was discovered, re-discovered and the problems faced whilst trying to calculate Ceres' orbit.
 * Reviewed:** 4-17-12

[[[]]] Entry added by: Kendall Doyle Spring 2012
 * Title:** Life on Ceres: Could the Dwarf Planet be the Root of Panspernia?
 * Author:** Ian O'Neill
 * Audience:** Students, teachers, curious individuals. If you believe there is life on other planets this link has some interesting ideas.
 * Opinion of site:** I feel that the information on this site is reliable, but it also includes theories. It states that if there is other life out there, Ceres may be a planet that could support life. If you are interested in the possibility of extra-terrestrial life I would suggest reading this article.
 * Reviewed:** 4-19-12

[[[]]] Entry added by: Kendall Doyle Spring 2012
 * Title:** What's a Planet and Why is Pluto Not in the Planet Club Anymore?
 * Author:** Andrew Fraknoi
 * Audience:** Students, teachers, or anyone who wants to know what makes a planet a planet.
 * Opinion of site:** This site has good information on what makes a planet a planet. I believe it is a trustable source when looking for information about planets and it has a section devoted to Ceres also. The history of how it was discovered and gives you specifics on why it is considered a dwarf planet.
 * Reviewed:** 4-19-12

[[[]]] Entry added by: Dillon Maples Fall 2012
 * Tite:** Ceres: A Dwarf Planet
 * Author:** The Star Child Team
 * Audience**: Students,Teachers
 * Opinion of site**: Has a good general knowledge about the planet also has a dictionary for words you might not know
 * Reviewed:** 12-10-12

[] Entry added by : Dillon Maples Fall 2012
 * Title:** Dwarf planet ceres
 * Author:** Calvin J. Hamilton
 * Audience:** Students, Teachers, General public
 * Opinion of site:** Details about the founding of the Dwarf planets and information seen and found by the hubble telescope pictures
 * Reviewed:** 12-10-12

[] Entry added by : Dillon Maples Fall 2012
 * Title:**Dawn Spacecraft Sets Sail for Dwarf Planet Ceres
 * Author:** John Matson
 * Audience**: Teachers, Students
 * Opinion of site**: short but detailed information about the space probe visits coming soon
 * Reviewed**: 12-10-12

[] Entry added by : Dillon Maples Fall 2012
 * Title:** Ceres
 * Author**: Nick Greene
 * Audience:** students, Teachers, or anyone wanting to know about ceres
 * Opinion of site:** has the basic information on the planey plus links to find additonal details
 * Reviewed:**12-10-12

[] Title: Cosmic secrets enigmas in our solar system, new planets discovered: Ceres Author: not given Audience: general public, Teachers, Students Opinion of site: good information about the founding and size of ceres and also talks about a book that is about the dwarf planet Reviewed: 12-10-12 Entry added by : Dillon Maples Fall 2012