Astronomy Tonight for - 04-01-2025
Échec de l'ajout au panier.
Veuillez réessayer plus tard
Échec de l'ajout à la liste d'envies.
Veuillez réessayer plus tard
Échec de la suppression de la liste d’envies.
Veuillez réessayer plus tard
Échec du suivi du balado
Ne plus suivre le balado a échoué
Astronomy Tonight for - 04-01-2025
-
Narrateur(s):
-
Auteur(s):
À propos de cet audio
Piazzi first spotted Ceres on January 1, 1801, but it was on April 1st that he made his final observations before losing sight of it due to its proximity to the Sun. This last observation was crucial in confirming the object's existence and orbit.
At first, Piazzi thought he had discovered a comet, but as he tracked its slow, steady motion, he began to suspect it might be something else entirely. He named the object Ceres Ferdinandea, after the Roman goddess of agriculture and King Ferdinand of Sicily.
The discovery of Ceres was a big deal because it filled a gap in the solar system that astronomers had long suspected existed between Mars and Jupiter. This gap, known as the Titius-Bode law, had predicted the existence of a planet in this region.
Ceres' discovery kicked off a frenzy of asteroid hunting, leading to the identification of many more objects in what we now call the asteroid belt. Initially classified as a planet, Ceres was later demoted to asteroid status, only to be promoted again in 2006 to the newly created category of "dwarf planet" along with Pluto and Eris.
So, on this day in 2025, as we look back 224 years, we can raise a toast to Giuseppe Piazzi and his groundbreaking discovery that changed our understanding of the solar system. And who knows? Maybe by 2025, we'll have sent a crewed mission to Ceres, mining its water ice for future deep space exploration. Now that would be an April 1st announcement worth making!
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
Pas encore de commentaire