CERES

THE DWARF PLANET

Pluto and other planets are far away from us. They are present in the KUIPER BELT. It is difficult to see that and visiting it too. But, A dwarf planet is present between Mars and Jupiter. The name of the dwarf planet is Ceres. Let’s see about it.

NEPTUNE WAS 18th PLANET?

In 1766, Many Planets in our Solar System are discovered. Many different types of Planets are found. Scientists search for a Planet between Mars and Jupiter. They thought it was disappeared. In 1801, An astronomer found a Light. At first, He thought it was a Comet. It is present in our Solar System. It is not a Planet, It is also not a Comet. What is it? He named that unknown object as CERES. Ceres is a Greek Word. It means, The God of Agriculture. Scientists concluded that it was a Planet present between Mars and Jupiter. They are ready to make it as a Planet. Then, It enters to the category of Planet. They thought that, They found the disappeared Planet in the Solar System between Mars and Jupiter. It was famous in that time. An element is found in 1803 which is named as Cerium. It is the modified name of Ceres. Till 1850, Ceres is placed in the Planet list. But, after the discovery of Ceres, Many objects like Ceres are found. The number of planets in the Solar System are also extended.

During the discovery of Neptune, It was the 18^th Planet of Solar System. If the number of Planets extends like this, Our Solar System contains more than 30 Planets. So, Scientists removes the Ceres like Planets. It was not so considered as a Comet. A new category is created and named as ASTEROIDS. Ceres is the first Asteroid discovered. Ceres contains One Third of the total mass of the Asteroid Belt. After this Pluto and SEDNA also discovered and also categorized as Planets. These Planets also face the same problem that Ceres face before. So, In 2006, INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION categorized the Ceres like objects as Dwarf Planets. Both of them have little difference only. A dwarf Planet must not be a Moon of another Planet. Both of them must revolve around the Sun. Both contain Unique Orbit Path. Both of them may have Moon. The Gravitational Field of the Dwarf Planet must maintain its Hydrostatic Equilibrium. They must be in the Spherical Shape. So, Ceres, Pluto and other Objects like this are categorized under Dwarf Planet. 

CERES - THE SMALLEST DWARF PLANET:

At first, Ceres is a Planet and after as Asteroid. Finally, It is considered as a Dwarf Planet. It is the nearest Dwarf Planet from Earth. It is also the smallest Dwarf Planet. The diameter of Ceres is 950 Kilometers. But, Our MOON's diameter is 3500 Kilometers. So, it is much smaller than Moon. The mass of Ceres is equal to One third of the mass of Moon. But, Our Moon is not a Dwarf Planet. Ceres is a special Dwarf Planet. It takes 4.5 Years to complete one rotation around the Sun. It takes 9 hours to rotate itself. The age of Ceres is equal to the age of the Sun. All asteroids are also same aged.

NASA sent a satellite to research Ceres like Dwarf Planets. It has high quality camera that captures Ceres in High-Definition. In that image, We can notice that Ceres has Ups and Downs. In Ceres a Mountain also present. The name of the mountain is Ahuna Mons. This is the only mountain present in Ceres. The diameter of mountain is 20 Kilometers and height of it is 5 Kilometers. It is also a type of Cryo-Volcano. Ceres also has Water and Sodium Carbonate. The water in Ceres is vapored. Each and every hour, 6 Kilograms of water is vapouring. This makes a thin layer of atmosphere is present in Ceres. It is made up of Water. 

THE CONCLUSION:

Ceres is considered as a Dwarf Planet. Simply, it is in the form of a Proto Planet. Researching more about Ceres, We can know the formation of Planets. It also has Organic Compounds like Carbon. Ceres has no moons.