Return to Scale View
About News Create With Us
Return to Scale View

How big is Ceres?

Ceres is 950 kilometers

Intro: A Journey to Ceres

Did you know there’s a world floating in the vastness of space that’s almost as wide as the state of Texas? This world is called Ceres, a dwarf planet that sits comfortably in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The Size of Ceres

Ceres is not as big as our home planet, Earth, but it’s not tiny either. It’s about 590 miles (950 kilometers) in diameter. To give you a better idea of its size, imagine this:

  • Ceres is about 27% of the width of Earth. That’s like comparing the size of a basketball to a soccer ball! - If Earth were the size of a nickel, Ceres would be about as big as a poppy seed. - It’s almost as wide as the state of Texas, and twice the size of the United Kingdom! Even though Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt, it’s still too dim to be seen from Earth without a telescope. But don’t let its size fool you; despite its small stature, Ceres is packed full of fascinating features and mysteries.

What Makes Ceres Special?

Ceres was the first asteroid ever discovered, way back on January 1, 1801. But it’s not just any asteroid; in fact, it’s known as a dwarf planet. It’s the only one of its kind that orbits the Sun within the path of Neptune. The surface of Ceres is a mixture of water ice and minerals. Below the surface, it’s believed to have a core of ice and rock. Although Ceres doesn’t have oceans like Earth, scientists think that salty water, or brine, flows through its mantle and reaches the surface. This process forms cryovolcanoes – volcanoes that erupt water, ammonia or methane, instead of molten rock. In 2014, scientists detected emissions of water vapour around Ceres, creating a thin, temporary atmosphere known as an exosphere. This was a surprise because usually only comets, not asteroids, have vapour emissions.

Exploring Ceres

In 2015, the NASA spacecraft Dawn got up close and personal with Ceres. The Dawn mission has helped scientists learn more about this intriguing dwarf planet. Even with our most powerful telescopes, many of Ceres’ surface features are hard to see from Earth. But thanks to Dawn, we’ve been able to get a better look. Here are some cool things that Dawn discovered about Ceres:

  • Ceres has a mountain, Ahuna Mons, which is a cryovolcano that may have formed about fifty million years ago. - The surface of Ceres is covered with craters of all sizes, much like our own moon.
  • Ceres has a bright spot in a crater named Occator, which scientists think is a result of salty water from below the surface making its way up and evaporating, leaving behind bright salt deposits. Ceres may be smaller than Earth, but it’s an exciting world full of surprises. It’s a reminder that size doesn’t always determine importance or interest. Who knows what other secrets this dwarf planet holds? As we continue to explore the wonders of our solar system, we might just find out!
Smaller By Category
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is one of the largest canyons on Earth. It was carved by the Colorado River. All that carving took around 17 million years! The layers of rock exposed were even older, some as old as 1.8 billion years old!
Hydra
Hydra is one of Pluto's moons. It's named after the seven-headed serpent from Greek mythology. Of course, Hydra will grow two heads if you cut one off. If you want Hydra to have n heads, all you have to do is cut off n-7 heads! However, this will not work if you want less than seven.
West Virginia
West Virginia used to be part of Virginia. They split in 1863 because of the Civil War. Now, West Virginia is still a state! A lot of glass marbles are made in West Virginia.
Larger By Category
Sedna
Sedna has a very elliptical orbit. It is so far away it takes 10,000 Earth years to complete one orbit. You probably realized that "Sedna" backwards is "Andes”, the world's longest mountain range (It's in South America). Both may seem other-worldly!
Quaoar
Some scientists used to think Quaoar had a dense core because a pluto-sized object hit it and stripped away its outer layers, but now we know Quaoar is much lighter than we originally assumed. Even so, it's almost as heavy and big as Pluto's moon Charon,
Italy
Italy was the home to Leonardo Da Vinci, who was an inventor, mathematician, engineer, painter, sculptor, scientist, musician, and much more. Many other painters, including Raphael and Michelangelo, were also from Italy.