Ceres: A World Between the Planets
Students follow Ceres from its discovery by Giuseppe Piazzi in 1801 through its changes from planet to asteroid to dwarf planet, and learn what NASA's Dawn mission found there, including the salt deposits in Occator crater and evidence of brine below.
Grades 5-8About 15 minutes of narrated flight, plus discussion stops9 stops
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What students will see and do
Students view the solar system from above, then fly to Ceres, Pallas, Ceres again for the Dawn findings, Vesta, Mars and Jupiter. Aetherion pauses for discussion at Ceres (how to investigate the bright spots), at Vesta (why two neighbors are so different) and at Jupiter (why no planet formed in the asteroid belt).
Learning objectives
- Describe how Ceres was discovered in 1801 and why its classification changed twice.
- Explain how the bright spots in Occator crater formed from salty water reaching the surface.
- Compare Ceres with Vesta and Mars in size, makeup and history.
- Use the idea of gravity to explain how Jupiter kept a planet from forming in the asteroid belt.
NGSS connections
| MS-ESS1-3 | Students compare the scale and properties of Ceres, Vesta, Mars and Jupiter using data from telescopes and the Dawn mission. |
|---|---|
| MS-ESS1-2 | Students explain how Jupiter's gravity shaped the asteroid belt and kept a large planet from forming there. |
Stops on this journey
- A Gap in the Pattern
- Piazzi's New Star
- Planet, Then Asteroid
- Dawn Arrives
- The Bright Spots of Occator (discussion stop)
- Hidden Brine
- Ceres and Vesta, Unlike Twins (discussion stop)
- A Size Check at Mars
- The Giant Next Door (discussion stop)
Vocabulary
- dwarf planet
- asteroid
- asteroid belt
- brine
- sodium carbonate
- crater
- cryovolcano
- density