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Ceres – January 24, 2004

Ceres - January 24, 2004
Hubble observations of the asteroid Ceres were made in visible and ultraviolet light between December 2003 and January 2004 with the Advanced Camera for Surveys.

About the Object

  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    The semi-major axis of Ceres' orbit about the Sun is 2.77 Astronomical Units (A.U.) or roughly 257 million miles (414 million kilometers). At the time of the Hubble observations, Ceres was roughly 1.63 A.U. from Earth.
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Ceres is has a mean diameter of approximately 590 miles (950 kilometers). The object has a 974.6 km diameter at the equator and a slightly smaller diameter (909.4 km) pole-to-pole.

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    This image was created from data from the HST proposal 9748: J. Parker (Southwest Research Institute), L. McFadden (University of Maryland), C. Russell (University of California, Los Angeles), A. Stern (Southwest Research Institute), M. Sykes (University of Arizona), P. Thomas (Cornell University) and E. Young (Southwest Research Institute). The science team includes: J. Parker (Southwest Research Institute), P. Thomas (Cornell University), L. McFadden (University of Maryland, College Park), and M. Mutchler and Z. Levay (Space Telescope Science Institute).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>ACS/HRC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    December 2003 - January 2004
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F330W (U) and F555W (V)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Ceres, 1 Ceres
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Minor Body in the Main Asteroid Belt
  • Release Date
    June 20, 2007
  • Science Release
    Hubble Images of Asteroids Help Astronomers Prepare for Spacecraft Visit
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and J. Parker (Southwest Research Institute)

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Ceres - January 24, 2004
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image is a composite of many separate exposures made by the ACS HRC instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope using several different filters. Two filters were used to sample broad wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F330W (U) Red/orange: F555W (V)

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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