The Asteroid Belt and the Dwarf Planet Ceres Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Reviewer Smith: Reviewer Smith

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Hidden : 3/7/2008
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

An asteroid :) . This is a cache in a series that represents a scale model of the solar system at 66 million to one scale. The inner dome of the Adler Planetatrium represents the surface of The Sun.

The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets. The asteroid belt region is also termed the main belt to distinguish it from other concentrations of minor planets within the Solar System, such as the Kuiper belt and scattered disk.



More than half the mass within the main belt is contained in the four largest objects: Ceres, 4 Vesta, 2 Pallas, and 10 Hygiea. All of these have mean diameters of more than 400 km, while Ceres, the main belt's only dwarf planet, is about 950 km in diameter The remaining bodies range down to the size of a dust particle.

Info from and more available at Wikipedia and here.

This cache represents the dwarf planet Ceres.






Ceres also designated 1 Ceres is the smallest identified dwarf planet in the Solar System and the only one in the asteroid belt. It was discovered on January 1, 1801, by Giuseppe Piazzi, and is named after the Roman goddess Ceres—the goddess of growing plants, the harvest, and of motherly love.



With a diameter of about 950 km, Ceres is by far the largest and most massive body in the asteroid belt, and contains approximately a third 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, which makes it a target of current searches for extraterrestrial life. Ceres may be surrounded by a tenuous atmosphere containing water vapour.

Info from and more available at Wikipedia.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Va gur ubyr va gur fghzc

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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