Ceres (dwarf planet) quadrangles. They are named after the first craters whose names the IAU approved in July 2015. The map image(s) were taken by the "Dawn" space probe. Ceres (dwarf planet) Ceres (; minor-planet designation: 1 Ceres) is the largest object in the asteroid belt that lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, slightly closer to Mars' orbit. With a diameter of , Ceres is the largest of the minor planets, and the only dwarf planet, inside Neptune's orbit. It is the 33rd-largest known body in the Solar System. Ceres is composed of rock and ice and is estimated to comprise
Solar System 7 light-years away. Compared to many other planetary systems, the Solar System stands out in lacking planets interior to the orbit of Mercury. The known Solar System also lacks super-Earths (Planet Nine could be a super-Earth beyond the known Solar System). Uncommonly, it has only small rocky planets and large gas giants; elsewhere planets of intermediate size are typical—both rocky and gas—so there is no "gap" as seen between the size of Earth and of Neptune (with a radius 3.8 times as large). Also, these super-Earths have closer orbits than Mercury. This led to hypothesis that all planetary systems start