Watch 7:20
The unfolding detective story of dwarf planet Ceres
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft set out in 2007 to explore Ceres and Vesta, the two largest objects in our solar system’s asteroid belt. What has Dawn discovered so far? Judy Woodruff sits down with NewsHour’s senior online editor Jenny Marder, who…
Dawn over Ceres, a mission of humankind
In December 2003, the Hubble Telescope spotted something peculiar on the surface of Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Hazy images revealed something bright and mysterious shining on the dark planet’s surface, like animal…
Watch 4:08
What two discoveries suggest about life in the solar system
Science correspondent Miles O’Brien joins Judy Woodruff to discuss two space stories that center around the search for life and how it began. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft arrived in orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres, which scientists believe shows signs of…
Timeline: Dawn spacecraft glides into orbit of dwarf planet Ceres
After spending nearly eight years floating through deep space, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft finally reached its destination Friday, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt called Ceres.
Years into its nearly decade-long mission to survey the asteroid belt, NASA's Dawn spacecraft traveled through deep space to better understand the dwarf planet Ceres. Now within 52,000 miles of the celestial body, Dawn's latest images still leave scientists baffled…
Astronomers attending an international summit in Prague plan to vote next week on a new classification of Pluto-like objects that will redefine the solar system. Experts discuss the proposed solution to the long-standing debate over whether Pluto is a planet.
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