Ceres is the smallest identified dwarf planet in the Solar System and the only one in the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 1 January 1801, by Giuseppe Piazzi, and for half a century it was classified as the eighth planet. It is named after Ceres, the Roman goddess of growing plants, the harvest, and motherly love. With a diameter of about 950 km (590 miles), Ceres is by far the largest and most massive body in the asteroid belt, and contains a third (32%) of the belt's total mass. Recent observations have revealed that it is spherical, unlike the irregular shapes of smaller bodies with lower gravity. The surface of Ceres is probably made of a mixture of water ice and various hydrated minerals like carbonates and clays. Ceres appears to be differentiated into a rocky core and ice mantle. It may harbour an ocean of liquid water underneath its surface. From the Earth, Ceres' apparent magnitude ranges from 6.7 to 9.3, and hence at its brightest it is still too dim to be seen with the naked eye. On 27 September 2007, NASA launched the Dawn space probe to explore Vesta (2011–2012) and Ceres (2015).

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_%28dwarf_planet%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1801:

The Kingdom of Ireland formally merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain, adding St. Patrick's saltire to the Union Flag. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Union_1800

1810:

Lachlan Macquarie became Governor of New South Wales, eventually playing a major role in the shaping of the social, economic and architectural development of the colony in Australia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachlan_Macquarie

1890:

The first Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, was first held, eventually becoming an annual event that is currently watched on television by millions in more than 200 countries and territories. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tournament_of_Roses_Parade

1959:

Cuban President Fulgencio Batista fled to the Dominican Republic as forces under Fidel Castro took control of Havana, marking the end of the Cuban Revolution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution

1995:

The World Trade Organization, the international organization designed to supervise and liberalize international trade, came into being, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

vociferation (n): The act of exclaiming; violent outcry; vehement utterance of the voice http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vociferation

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The people I respect most behave as if they were immortal and as if society was eternal. --E. M. Forster http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._M._Forster