Zeres, observed for two centuries

2002/01/08 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Astronomia

The 'division' of the planets in the Solar System has always interested astronomers. From a certain time, planets that are not seen at the naked eye begin to be discovered. Some are very far to see them, as they are located beyond Saturn. But the calculations posed a curious question: Is not a planet between Mars and Jupiter lacking due to the situation of the nearby planets?

The answer was given by the Italian astronomer Giusseppe Piazzi in 1801. Instead of being a planet, Piazzi found an asteroid, a 930 kilometer spherical stone. Since then, other asteroids have been found in the same region, all of them smaller than Ceres. Thus, instead of creating a great planet, they concluded that the matter of this region is divided into asteroids, it is an asteroid belt.

At present both Ceres and other belt asteroids are being analyzed through the Hubble telescope. In last year's observations, a large spot was detected on the surface of this asteroid, possibly the "war wound" that hit another asteroid.