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Until today, the only observation of Ceres has been by telescope. Astronomers have inferred a remarkable number of the physical properties of Ceres from this observation, but wish to learn much more.
Until today, the only observation of Ceres has been by telescope. Astronomers have inferred a remarkable number of the physical properties of Ceres from this observation, but wish to learn much more.
On September 27, 2007, the [[Dawn mission]] began officially with the launch of Dawn, the first rocket probe to visit the asteroid belt. The Dawn craft carries an ion engine that it will use on the second part of its journey after it makes rendezvous with [[Mars]]. Dawn's two targets are the asteroid [[Vesta]] and the dwarf planet Ceres.<ref name=Dawn>"[http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/index.asp Dawn Mission Overview]." [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory|JPL]], [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]], March 31, 2008. Accessed June 2, 2008.</ref><ref name=Dawn2>Rayman, Marc D., Fraschetti, Thomas C., Raymond, Carol A., and Russell, Chrisopher T. "[http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/Dawn_overview.pdf Dawn: A mission in development for exploration of main belt asteroids Vesta and Ceres]." [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory|JPL]], [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]], April 5, 2006. Accessed June 2, 2008.</ref>
On September 27, 2007, the [[Dawn mission]] began officially with the launch of Dawn, the first rocket probe to visit the asteroid belt. The Dawn craft carries an ion engine that it used on the second part of its journey after it makes rendezvous with [[Mars]]. Dawn entered orbit around the asteroid [[Vesta]] and then departed Vesta for the dwarf planet Ceres. It will reach Ceres in February of 2015 and will then become the first space probe ever to orbit two celestial bodies ''other than the earth.''<ref name=Dawn>"[http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/index.asp Dawn Mission Overview]." [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory|JPL]], [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]], March 31, 2008. Accessed June 2, 2008.</ref><ref name=Dawn2>Rayman, Marc D., Fraschetti, Thomas C., Raymond, Carol A., and Russell, Chrisopher T. "[http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/Dawn_overview.pdf Dawn: A mission in development for exploration of main belt asteroids Vesta and Ceres]." [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory|JPL]], [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]], April 5, 2006. Accessed June 2, 2008.</ref>
Walter T. Brown eagerly awaits the mass-spectrographic analysis of the water-vapor gushers on Ceres (see above). He predicts that analysis will show Ceres' water vapor rich in [[deuterium]], and at twice the concentration in the [[ocean]]s of [[Earth]]. This will provide further vindication of the Hydroplate Theory and leave another thorny matter for conventional astronomers to explain: what nuclear catastrophe could have occurred in the solar system to release enough neutrons to produce so much heavy [[hydrogen]], in [[comet]]s and asteroids?<ref name=examiner/>
== References ==
== References ==