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Hello, Ceres: NASA's Dawn probe is the first to orbit a dwarf planet
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Ceres is seen rotating in this sped-up animation comprised of images taken by Dawn. The images were taken on Feb. 19, 2015, from a distance of nearly 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers).
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An illustration shows Dawn arriving at Ceres. The probe has been traveling for nearly eight years to reach its destination.
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A mosaic image of Ceres' surface shows the dwarf planet's many craters.
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An artist's concept shows Dawn's ion propulsion system in action.
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These images of Ceres were taken from around 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers) away on February 25th. The resolution is about 2.3 miles (3.7 kilometers) per pixel.
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An animation of Ceres composed of images taken by Dawn on February 4th, 2015. From a distance of about 90,000 miles (145,000 kilometers) from the dwarf planet.
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A map of Dawn's spiraling route from Earth. The portions in blue are when the probe was using its ion thrusters, those in brown are when it was simply coasting.
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The Delta II rocket carrying the Dawn probe blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on September 27th, 2007.
