Ceres is a 1000-km diameter rocky body that orbits the sun. What is its correct classification?

Ceres is a 1000-km diameter rocky body that orbits the sun. What is its correct classification?

• A. Asteroid
• B. Comet
• C. Meteor
• D. Meteorite

Answer: (A)

The main idea is telling apart the different kinds of small bodies that orbit the Sun by their composition and where they are found. A rocky body about 1000 km across that orbits the Sun in the region between Mars and Jupiter fits the profile of an asteroid. Asteroids are mostly rocky or metallic objects that travel around the Sun, especially in the asteroid belt. Comets, by contrast, are ice-rich and typically show a glowing coma or tail when they near the Sun. Meteors are streaks in the sky produced by small rocks burning up in Earth's atmosphere, and meteorites are those rocks that survive passage through the atmosphere and land on Earth. So, given its rocky nature and solar orbit in the belt, this object is classified as an asteroid. (Note: in modern astronomy Ceres is also described as a dwarf planet, but that label isn’t among the options here.)

The main idea is telling apart the different kinds of small bodies that orbit the Sun by their composition and where they are found. A rocky body about 1000 km across that orbits the Sun in the region between Mars and Jupiter fits the profile of an asteroid. Asteroids are mostly rocky or metallic objects that travel around the Sun, especially in the asteroid belt. Comets, by contrast, are ice-rich and typically show a glowing coma or tail when they near the Sun. Meteors are streaks in the sky produced by small rocks burning up in Earth's atmosphere, and meteorites are those rocks that survive passage through the atmosphere and land on Earth. So, given its rocky nature and solar orbit in the belt, this object is classified as an asteroid. (Note: in modern astronomy Ceres is also described as a dwarf planet, but that label isn’t among the options here.)