SPACE — On January 1, 1801, a Sicilian astronomer named Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the dwarf planet Ceres orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter. At that time, Ceres was considered a planet.
However, as astronomers discovered more objects orbiting the same region over the next few decades, they downgraded Ceres and all the other objects to asteroid status.
However, in 2006, a major debate about Pluto’s planetary status caused astronomers to redefine what it meant to be a planet.
Since then, Ceres has been reclassified as a dwarf planet. Fate then befell Pluto, whose status was downgraded from a planet to a dwarf planet.
Also Read: Ceres, the Surprising Dwarf Planet That Is Now Suspected to Be Inhabited
Despite being the smallest known dwarf planet, Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt. In fact, currently scientists suspect there is life on Ceres. Source: Space.com
2024-01-01 16:54:00
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