Number

1

Class

Dwarf Planet
Main belt asteroid

Discovery date

01.01.1801

Discovery position

24° Taurus Rx

Orbital period

4.6 years

Orbit

Aphelion

2.982 AU

Perihelion

2.550 AU

Semimajor axis

2.767 AU

Magnitude

At certain points in its orbit, Ceres can reach a magnitude of 7.0. (under exceptional viewing conditions a very sharp-sighted person may be able to see the asteroid with the naked eye)

Diameter

950 km

Mythology

Piazzi named Ceres after the Roman goddess of grain and patron goddess of Sicily, thereby starting a tradition that continues to the this day: asteroids are named by their discoverers (in contrast to comets, which are named for their discoverers).

In Roman mythology, Ceres was the goddess of growing plants (particularly cereals) and of motherly love. She was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, wife-sister of Jupiter, mother of Proserpina by Jupiter and sister of Juno, Vesta, Neptune and Pluto. She was also patron of Enna, Sicily.

Ceres