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Color View of Ceres
This is a NASA Hubble Space Telescope color image of Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt.
Astronomers enhanced the sharpness in these Advanced Camera for Surveys images to bring out features on Ceres' surface, including brighter and darker regions that could be asteroid impact features. The observations were made in visible and ultraviolet light between December 2003 and January 2004.
The colors represent the differences between relatively red and blue regions. These differences may simply be due to variation on the surface among different types of material.
Ceres' round shape suggests that its interior is layered like those of terrestrial planets such as Earth. Ceres may have a rocky inner core, an icy mantle, and a thin, dusty outer crust inferred from its density and rotation rate of 9 hours. Ceres is approximately 590 miles (950 kilometers) across and was first discovered in 1801.
About the Object
- DistanceDistanceThe 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.
- DimensionsDimensionsThe 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 DescriptionData 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). - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.HST>ACS/HRC
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.January 23, 2004 23:40 UT
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.F330W (U) and F555W (V)
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.Ceres, 1 Ceres
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Minor Body in the Main Asteroid Belt
- Release DateSeptember 7, 2005
- Science ReleaseLargest Asteroid May Be ‘Mini Planet’ with Water Ice
- Credit
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)
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
