Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the asteroid Ceres – now considered a dwarf planet – on January 1, 1801. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/jan-1-1801-discovery-of-ceres…
Tag: Pallas
This is the most violent object in the solar system
New images reveal that one of the strangest asteroids in the solar system is also the most covered in craters, after billions of years plowing through the asteroid belt like a runaway train. Source: https://www.livescience.com/asteroid-pallas-covered-in-craters.html
Astronomers spy the Geminid meteors’ dust trail in space
Astronomers held a press conference this week to discuss the trail of dust left by 3200 Phaethon – the mysterious, blue rock-comet that spawns the Geminid meteor shower each year. This object was one of the 1st to blur the distinction between asteroids and comets. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/rock-comet-3200-phaethon-geminid-meteor-shower…
Is Hygiea now the smallest dwarf planet?
New images from ESO’s Very Large Telescope show that asteroid Hygiea is round, meaning that it may now be classified as the smallest-known dwarf planet in our solar system. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/asteroid-hygiea-smallest-known-dwarf-planet-very-large-telescope-eso…