The inside of Ceres is a large rocky core.
Scientists from the USA, France and Germany have determined the approximate internal structure of the dwarf planet Ceres — the largest celestial body in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. A study published in the journal Nature.
The inside of Ceres is a large rocky core, the density of which reaches to 2.46-2,90 thousands of kilograms per cubic meter. – Coated, the thickness of which reaches 70-190 km and a density of 1.68-1.95 thousand kilograms per cubic meter.
Most likely, the outer shell contains a mixture of volatile compounds and more dense materials, while the kernel of Ceres consists of chondrites. The average normalized moment of inertia of Ceres was equal to 0.37.
To such conclusions scientists came after the analysis of the data received by station Dawn. According to planetary scientists, evolution of Ceres was more complex than the other heavenly bodies from the asteroid belt — Vesta.
Station Dawn launched on 27 September 2007 using the launch vehicle Delta 2 from the spaceport at Cape Canaveral in the US and in orbit around Ceres turned out to be March 6, 2015. The cost of the project to study the asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres is about $ 500 million.
Ceres discovered in 1801 by Italian Giuseppe Piazzi and named after the Roman goddess of fertility. The outer diameter of the object is approximately 950 kilometers, making it the largest celestial body in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
