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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. [2] Compared to other planets and dwarf planets, Ceres's orbit is moderately tilted relative to that of Earth; its inclination (i) is 10.6°, compared to 7° for Mercury and 17° for Pluto.
Ceres is saturated with impact craters.Many have a central pit or bright spot. In the first batch of 17 names approved by the IAU, craters north of 20° north latitude had names beginning with A–G (with Asari being the furthest north), those between 20° north and south latitude beginning with H–R, and those further south beginning with S–Z (with Zadeni being the furthest south).
Ceres's oblateness is consistent with a differentiated body, a rocky core overlain with an icy mantle. [30] This 100-kilometer-thick mantle (23%–28% of Ceres by mass; 50% by volume) [31] contains up to 200 million cubic kilometers of water, which would be more than the amount of fresh water on Earth. [32]
The Occator crater floor is covered in linear impact fractures from the southwest to the central depression. [14] [16] These fractures cross over the northeast lobate flow deposits at the base of the crater wall that extends into the central depression. [17] The crater floor comprises three central morphological units, which divide the crater ...
The mass of Pallas is 79% ± 1% that of Vesta, 22% that of Ceres, and a quarter of one percent that of the Moon. Pallas is farther from Earth and has a much lower albedo than Vesta, and hence is dimmer as seen from Earth. Indeed, the much smaller asteroid 7 Iris marginally exceeds Pallas in mean opposition magnitude. [49]
Scientists have detected ice on the planet's surface, which could mean Ceres is hiding an ocean below its frozen crust. Dwarf planet Ceres may have a huge ocean that could support life Skip to ...
The EID lists fewer than ten such craters, and the largest in the last 100,000 years (100 ka) is the 4.5 km (2.8 mi) Rio Cuarto crater in Argentina. [2] However, there is some uncertainty regarding its origins [ 3 ] and age, with some sources giving it as < 10 ka [ 2 ] [ 4 ] while the EID gives a broader < 100 ka.
Scientists have found a new Earth-like planet that could support alien life – just 40 light-years away. The planet is a remarkable discovery in the search for habitable worlds: it is slightly ...