[X] My Assistant

[Guest_Kevin Heider_*]

I had assumed that 1 Ceres was still considered an Asteroid since it orbits in the asteroid belt and has the same origin as the other asteroids.

But I noticed that on wikipedia they say: "Ceres is a 'dwarf planet', and may no longer be classified as an asteroid."

Wikipedia cites the IAU website at http://www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/...u0603_Q_A2.html that states:
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Q: What is Ceres?

A: Ceres is (or now we can say it was) the largest asteroid, about 1000 km across, orbiting in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres now qualifies as a dwarf planet because it is now known to be large enough (massive enough) to have self-gravity pulling itself into a nearly round shape. [Published reference for shape of Ceres: P. Thomas et al. (2005), Nature 437, 224-227. Dr. Peter Thomas is at Cornell University.] Ceres orbits within the asteroid belt and is an example of a case of an object that does not orbit in a clear path. There are many other asteroids that can cross the orbital path of Ceres.

Q: Didn’t Ceres used to be called an asteroid or minor planet?

A: Historically, Ceres was called a “planet” when it was first discovered (in 1801) orbiting in what is known as the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Because 19 th century astronomers could not resolve the size and shape of Ceres, and because numerous other bodies were discovered in the same region, Ceres lost its planetary status. For more than a century, Ceres has been referred to as an asteroid or minor planet.
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Is Ceres still classified as an asteroid since it is located in the asteroid belt? Pluto is a Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) even though it is also a 'dwarf planet'.

Has Pallas become the 1st asteroid discovered? Has Vesta become the largest asteroid (at least until the IAU decides that since Vesta is a damaged, differentiated protoplanet that it was probably spherical in the past)? *IF* Ceres is truely no longer an asteroid, because it is spherical, then those two very basic questions have new answers!

How do we contact the IAU for an official statement on the classification of Ceres as an asteroid?

-- Kevin Heider

[djellison]

Minor planet would make a lot more sense than 'dwarf' planet - but neither is appropriate for a class of body that hasn't 'cleaned up' it's area. That would be like calling anyone who lives in a block of apartments a dwarf human.

Doug