Dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt, reaches opposition on January 31st. It will peak at magnitude +6.8, as it moves retrograde in Cancer. Bright stars Castor (α Gem - mag. +1.6) and Pollux (β Gem - mag. +1.1) in Gemini can be found about 20 degrees further west. Since Ceres travels quickly with respect to the "fixed" background stars, it can be tracked on a nightly basis. Although Ceres is too faint to be spotted with the naked eye, it's easily visible with binoculars and small telescopes. In addition, this opposition is very favourable as this dwarf planet peaks close to its maximum possible brightness. At opposition, it will be 1.602 AU (approx. 239.7 million kilometres or 148.9 million miles) distant from Earth.
On January 1, 1801, Italian catholic priest and astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi discovered Ceres, originally believing it to be a comet. This new object, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, was initially classified as a planet and given its own planetary symbol. However when more objects, all small, were discovered in the same region of the Solar System, the general term "asteroid" was coined to describe them. Much later in 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) defined a new classification of dwarf planet, of which Ceres is now a member. Ceres has a diameter of 945 kilometres (590 miles).
Ceres will gradually fade in brightness after opposition, but will still remain visible with binoculars and small scopes over the coming few months. Positions of Ceres in the chart and table below are at 0 UT.
Ceres - January 15 to March 12, 2018 - Finder Chart - pdf format (credit:- freestarcharts)
Ceres Data Table
Date | RA (J2000) | DEC (J2000) | Apparent Mag. | Constellation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 15 | 09h 25m 58.0s | 28d 00m 02.0s | 7.1 | Leo |
Jan 16 | 09h 25m 16.1s | 28d 08m 23.6s | 7.1 | Leo |
Jan 17 | 09h 24m 32.7s | 28d 16m 43.9s | 7.0 | Leo |
Jan 18 | 09h 23m 48.0s | 28d 25m 02.5s | 7.0 | Leo |
Jan 19 | 09h 23m 02.0s | 28d 33m 18.7s | 7.0 | Leo |
Jan 20 | 09h 22m 14.7s | 28d 41m 32.1s | 7.0 | Cancer |
Jan 21 | 09h 21m 26.3s | 28d 49m 41.8s | 7.0 | Cancer |
Jan 22 | 09h 20m 36.8s | 28d 57m 47.6s | 7.0 | Cancer |
Jan 23 | 09h 19m 46.3s | 29d 05m 48.6s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Jan 24 | 09h 18m 54.8s | 29d 13m 44.5s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Jan 25 | 09h 18m 02.3s | 29d 21m 34.5s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Jan 26 | 09h 17m 09.1s | 29d 29m 18.3s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Jan 27 | 09h 16m 15.1s | 29d 36m 55.2s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Jan 28 | 09h 15m 20.4s | 29d 44m 24.8s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Jan 29 | 09h 14m 25.1s | 29d 51m 46.5s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Jan 30 | 09h 13m 29.2s | 29d 58m 59.9s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Jan 31 | 09h 12m 32.9s | 30d 06m 04.5s | 6.8 | Cancer |
Feb 01 | 09h 11m 36.1s | 30d 12m 59.9s | 6.8 | Cancer |
Feb 02 | 09h 10m 39.1s | 30d 19m 45.7s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Feb 03 | 09h 09m 41.8s | 30d 26m 21.3s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Feb 04 | 09h 08m 44.4s | 30d 32m 46.5s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Feb 05 | 09h 07m 46.9s | 30d 39m 00.7s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Feb 06 | 09h 06m 49.3s | 30d 45m 03.8s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Feb 07 | 09h 05m 51.9s | 30d 50m 55.3s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Feb 08 | 09h 04m 54.6s | 30d 56m 34.8s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Feb 09 | 09h 03m 57.5s | 31d 02m 02.1s | 6.9 | Cancer |
Feb 10 | 09h 03m 00.8s | 31d 07m 17.0s | 7.0 | Cancer |
Feb 11 | 09h 02m 04.5s | 31d 12m 19.1s | 7.0 | Cancer |
Feb 12 | 09h 01m 08.7s | 31d 17m 08.2s | 7.0 | Cancer |
Feb 13 | 09h 00m 13.5s | 31d 21m 44.2s | 7.0 | Cancer |
Feb 14 | 08h 59m 18.9s | 31d 26m 06.9s | 7.0 | Cancer |
Feb 15 | 08h 58m 25.1s | 31d 30m 16.0s | 7.0 | Cancer |
Feb 16 | 08h 57m 32.0s | 31d 34m 11.6s | 7.1 | Cancer |
Feb 17 | 08h 56m 39.9s | 31d 37m 53.5s | 7.1 | Cancer |
Feb 18 | 08h 55m 48.7s | 31d 41m 21.6s | 7.1 | Cancer |
Feb 19 | 08h 54m 58.6s | 31d 44m 36.0s | 7.1 | Cancer |
Feb 20 | 08h 54m 09.5s | 31d 47m 36.6s | 7.2 | Cancer |
Feb 21 | 08h 53m 21.7s | 31d 50m 23.3s | 7.2 | Cancer |
Feb 22 | 08h 52m 35.0s | 31d 52m 56.4s | 7.2 | Cancer |
Feb 23 | 08h 51m 49.7s | 31d 55m 15.7s | 7.2 | Cancer |
Feb 24 | 08h 51m 05.7s | 31d 57m 21.5s | 7.2 | Cancer |
Feb 25 | 08h 50m 23.1s | 31d 59m 13.7s | 7.3 | Cancer |
Feb 26 | 08h 49m 41.9s | 32d 00m 52.6s | 7.3 | Cancer |
Feb 27 | 08h 49m 02.3s | 32d 02m 18.2s | 7.3 | Cancer |
Feb 28 | 08h 48m 24.1s | 32d 03m 30.7s | 7.3 | Cancer |
Mar 01 | 08h 47m 47.6s | 32d 04m 30.3s | 7.3 | Cancer |
Mar 02 | 08h 47m 12.6s | 32d 05m 17.0s | 7.4 | Cancer |
Mar 03 | 08h 46m 39.3s | 32d 05m 51.2s | 7.4 | Cancer |
Mar 04 | 08h 46m 07.6s | 32d 06m 12.9s | 7.4 | Cancer |
Mar 05 | 08h 45m 37.6s | 32d 06m 22.3s | 7.4 | Cancer |
Mar 06 | 08h 45m 09.4s | 32d 06m 19.6s | 7.5 | Cancer |
Mar 07 | 08h 44m 42.8s | 32d 06m 05.0s | 7.5 | Cancer |
Mar 08 | 08h 44m 18.1s | 32d 05m 38.7s | 7.5 | Cancer |
Mar 09 | 08h 43m 55.1s | 32d 05m 00.9s | 7.5 | Cancer |
Mar 10 | 08h 43m 34.0s | 32d 04m 11.7s | 7.5 | Cancer |
Mar 11 | 08h 43m 14.6s | 32d 03m 11.5s | 7.5 | Cancer |
Mar 12 | 08h 42m 57.2s | 32d 02m 00.3s | 7.6 | Cancer |
Mar 13 | 08h 42m 41.5s | 32d 00m 38.4s | 7.6 | Cancer |
Mar 14 | 08h 42m 27.7s | 31d 59m 06.1s | 7.6 | Cancer |