Asteroid 1 Ceres
Asteroid 1 Ceres is in the constellation of
Cetus,
at a distance of
Finder Charts
View interactive star map
High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 1 Ceres is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Asteroid 1 Ceres?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 1 Ceres in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Celestial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 1 Ceres from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 1 Ceres is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
- Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 29.38° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 1 Ceres is visible with the help of a binocular with a 50mm aperture, easy with a small telescope.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 1 Ceres from Earth is currently
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 1 Ceres from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 1 Ceres from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach
Between 1 January 1600 and 30 December 2499, the closest approach of Asteroid 1 Ceres to Earth happens on Mon Feb 11 1636 at a distance of 1.573972 Astronomical Units, or 235,462,867 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 1 Ceres, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 1 Ceres at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.07881745 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 10.58634327° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.54907953 AU 381,336,871 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.98528395 AU 446,592,124 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.76718174 AU 413,964,497 km |
| Orbital period | period |
4.6033 years 1,681.3377 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2022-Dec-06 14:18:42 2,459,920.0963 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2027-Jul-14 22:24 2,461,601.4340 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 73.470461544247° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 80.260148690589° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 17.215651496148° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.21411522°/day |
View Asteroid 1 Ceres in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 1 Ceres. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 952.4 km | 0.0747 |
| Sideral Rotation | 9.0742 hours | 0.3791 |
| Absolute Magnitude | 3.34 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.09 |
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 1 Ceres computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 May 30 | 00h 30m 19s | -07° 13’ 11” | 9.24 | Cetus |
| 2025 May 31 | 00h 31m 27s | -07° 08’ 23” | 9.23 | Cetus |
| 2025 Jun 01 | 00h 32m 35s | -07° 03’ 39” | 9.23 | Cetus |
| 2025 Jun 02 | 00h 33m 42s | -06° 59’ 00” | 9.22 | Cetus |
| 2025 Jun 03 | 00h 34m 48s | -06° 54’ 27” | 9.22 | Cetus |
| 2025 Jun 04 | 00h 35m 54s | -06° 49’ 58” | 9.21 | Cetus |
| 2025 Jun 05 | 00h 37m 00s | -06° 45’ 35” | 9.21 | Cetus |
| 2025 Jun 06 | 00h 38m 05s | -06° 41’ 15” | 9.20 | Cetus |
| 2025 Jun 07 | 00h 39m 09s | -06° 37’ 01” | 9.20 | Cetus |
| 2025 Jun 08 | 00h 40m 13s | -06° 32’ 53” | 9.19 | Cetus |
| 2025 Jun 09 | 00h 41m 17s | -06° 28’ 49” | 9.18 | Cetus |
| 2025 Jun 10 | 00h 42m 20s | -06° 24’ 51” | 9.18 | Cetus |
| 2025 Jun 11 | 00h 43m 22s | -06° 20’ 58” | 9.17 | Cetus |
| 2025 Jun 12 | 00h 44m 24s | -06° 17’ 11” | 9.16 | Cetus |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 1 Ceres: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is Asteroid 1 Ceres?: Key information on locating Asteroid 1 Ceres in the sky.
- Distance from Earth: Find out how far Asteroid 1 Ceres is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is Asteroid 1 Ceres?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Asteroid 1 Ceres's rise and set times from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: planetarium-style interactive visualization of Asteroid 1 Ceres's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: high precision position tracker with deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days Asteroid 1 Ceres's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: information about Asteroid 1 Ceres orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization. 3d interactive visualization showing the orbit of Asteroid 1 Ceres with respect to the major Solar System objects.
- Physical Data. Detailed information about physical properties of Asteroid 1 Ceres, such as mass and geometric properties.