drumbo
08-21-06, 11:56 AM
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0608/ceres_hst.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0608/ceres_hst_big.jpg) Ceres: Asteroid or Planet?
Credit: NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/), ESA (http://www.spacetelescope.org/),J. Parker (http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~joel/) (SwRI (http://www.swri.org/)) et al.
Explanation: Is Ceres (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_%28asteroid%29) an asteroid (http://www.nineplanets.org/asteroids.html) or a planet? Although a trivial designation to some, the recent suggestion by the Planet Definition Committee (http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0601/iau0601_committee.html) of the International Astronomical Union (http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/NEWS.55.0.html) would have Ceres reclassified from asteroid to planet. A change in taxonomy might lead to more notoriety for the frequently overlooked world.Ceres (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/ceres.html), at about 1000 kilometers across, is the largest object in the main asteroid belt (http://www.solstation.com/stars/asteroid.htm) between Mars and Jupiter.Under the newly proposed criteria (http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0601/iau0601_release.html), Ceres would qualify as a planet because it is nearly spherical and sufficiently distant from other planets. Pictured above (http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2005/27/image/a) is the best picture yet of Ceres, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010806.html) as part of a series of exposures ending in 2004 January.Currently, NASA's Dawn mission (http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/) is scheduled to launch in 2007 June to explore Ceres and Vesta (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060820.html), regardless of their future designations.
Source (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060821.html)
Credit: NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/), ESA (http://www.spacetelescope.org/),J. Parker (http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~joel/) (SwRI (http://www.swri.org/)) et al.
Explanation: Is Ceres (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_%28asteroid%29) an asteroid (http://www.nineplanets.org/asteroids.html) or a planet? Although a trivial designation to some, the recent suggestion by the Planet Definition Committee (http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0601/iau0601_committee.html) of the International Astronomical Union (http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/NEWS.55.0.html) would have Ceres reclassified from asteroid to planet. A change in taxonomy might lead to more notoriety for the frequently overlooked world.Ceres (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/ceres.html), at about 1000 kilometers across, is the largest object in the main asteroid belt (http://www.solstation.com/stars/asteroid.htm) between Mars and Jupiter.Under the newly proposed criteria (http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0601/iau0601_release.html), Ceres would qualify as a planet because it is nearly spherical and sufficiently distant from other planets. Pictured above (http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2005/27/image/a) is the best picture yet of Ceres, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010806.html) as part of a series of exposures ending in 2004 January.Currently, NASA's Dawn mission (http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/) is scheduled to launch in 2007 June to explore Ceres and Vesta (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060820.html), regardless of their future designations.
Source (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060821.html)