Ceres is the largest object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It actually contains about a third of the entire belt's total mass.

Ceres was considered an asteroid for over 150 years until 2006. It was reclassified alongside Pluto because its own gravity pulled it into a spherical shape.

The Dawn spacecraft revealed these reflective spots are mostly sodium carbonate. This salt was left behind when briny liquid water seeped up and evaporated on the surface.

Discovered in 1801, Ceres was named after the patron goddess of Sicily. This Roman deity of grain and crops is also the root of the modern English word "cereal."