The dwarf planet Ceres is 590 miles (950 kilometers) in diameter, or about the size of the state of Texas. Ceres is thought to be a surviving protoplanet, or planetary embryo, formed 4.57 billion years ago in the earliest days of our solar system.
Dwarf Planet Ceres: Biggest in the Asteroid Belt (Infographic)

The Dawn space probe is getting humanity's best view yet of the tiny survivor from the solar system's earliest days.
(Image: © By Karl Tate, Infographics Artist)
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