[FPSPACE] Fw: [Daily article] January 1: Ceres (dwarf planet)

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From: English Wikipedia Article of the Day <daily-article-l at lists.wikimedia.org>
Date: Fri, 1 Jan 2010 00:05:09 
To: <daily-article-l at lists.wikimedia.org>
Subject: [Daily article] January 1: Ceres (dwarf planet)

Ceres is the smallest identified dwarf planet in the Solar System and 
 the only one in the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 1 January 1801, 
 by Giuseppe Piazzi, and for half a century it was classified as the 
 eighth planet. It is named after Ceres, the Roman goddess of growing 
 plants, the harvest, and motherly love. With a diameter of about 950 km 
 (590 miles), Ceres is by far the largest and most massive body in the 
 asteroid belt, and contains a third (32%) of the belt's total mass. 
 Recent observations have revealed that it is spherical, unlike the 
 irregular shapes of smaller bodies with lower gravity. The surface of 
 Ceres is probably made of a mixture of water ice and various hydrated 
 minerals like carbonates and clays. Ceres appears to be differentiated 
 into a rocky core and ice mantle. It may harbour an ocean of liquid 
 water underneath its surface. From the Earth, Ceres' apparent magnitude 
 ranges from 6.7 to 9.3, and hence at its brightest it is still too dim 
 to be seen with the naked eye. On 27 September 2007, NASA launched the 
 Dawn space probe to explore Vesta (2011-2012) and Ceres (2015).
 
 Read the rest of this article:
 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_%28dwarf_planet%29 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_%28dwarf_planet%29> >
 
 _______________________________
 Today's selected anniversaries:
 
 1801:
 
 The Kingdom of Ireland formally merged with the Kingdom of Great 
 Britain, adding St. Patrick's saltire to the Union Flag.
 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Union_1800 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Union_1800> >
 
 1810:
 
 Lachlan Macquarie became Governor of New South Wales, eventually 
 playing a major role in the shaping of the social, economic and 
 architectural development of the colony in Australia.
 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachlan_Macquarie <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachlan_Macquarie> >
 
 1890:
 
 The first Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, was first 
 held, eventually becoming an annual event that is currently watched on 
 television by millions in more than 200 countries and territories.
 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tournament_of_Roses_Parade <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tournament_of_Roses_Parade> >
 
 1959:
 
 Cuban President Fulgencio Batista fled to the Dominican Republic as 
 forces under Fidel Castro took control of Havana, marking the end of 
 the Cuban Revolution.
 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution> >
 
 1995:
 
 The World Trade Organization, the international organization designed 
 to supervise and liberalize international trade, came into being, 
 replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization> >
 
 _____________________________
 Wiktionary's word of the day:
 
 vociferation (n):
 The act of exclaiming; violent outcry; vehement utterance of the voice
 <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vociferation <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vociferation> >
 
 ___________________________
 Wikiquote quote of the day:
 
 The people I respect most behave as if they were immortal and as if 
 society was eternal.
   --E. M. Forster
 <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._M._Forster <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._M._Forster> >
 
 
 
 
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