The largest known asteroid in the Solar System is a dwarf planet named Ceres. Located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Ceres is the largest and most massive object in the asteroid belt. With an approximate diameter of 945 km, it is the only asteroid detectable by the naked eye from Earth, and is the only known asteroid with a diameter greater than 500 km.
Ceres was discovered in 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi, an Italian astronomer, who named it after the Roman goddess of the harvest. At first, it was thought to be a planet, but later it was identified as an asteroid. Ceres is considered to be the most massive body in the asteroid belt, making up about one-third of the total mass of the asteroid belt.
Ceres is composed of a mixture of rock, ice, and dust, and is believed to have a rocky core and an icy mantle. Its surface is covered with numerous craters, most likely created by asteroid impacts. Its interior is believed to contain a significant quantity of water, making it a potential source of water for future human exploration of the Solar System.
Ceres is classified as a dwarf planet, meaning it is large enough to be round but not large enough to clear its orbit. This makes it the smallest known dwarf planet in the Solar System. Its classification as a dwarf planet makes it the only asteroid to be recognized as a planet.
The diameter of Ceres is estimated to be around 945 km, making it the largest known asteroid in the Solar System. Ceres is also the most massive object in the asteroid belt and the only asteroid visible to the naked eye from Earth. Its size and location make it a potential target for future exploration, and it has already been studied extensively by both ground- and space-based instruments.
