Which chemical element is named after an asteroid, now also classified as a dwarf planet?
Naming of chemical elements planets, dwarf planets, a few asteroids, our star, our planet, and our Moon. Uranium, neptunium, plutonium, cerium, and palladium were named after Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Ceres, and Pallas respectively, which were at the time of their naming all considered to be planets. (Today, Pluto and Ceres are considered to be dwarf planets, and Pallas is considered to be an asteroid.) The name of the element selenium came from the Greek word for the Moon (Σελήνη, "Selene"). The name helium comes from the Greek word for the Sun (Ἢλιος, "Helios"). This is because the first evidence for helium was in distinctive,
Ceres (dwarf planet) were instead classified as dwarf planets. Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt. It is sometimes assumed that Ceres has been "re"classified as a dwarf planet, and that it is therefore no longer considered an asteroid. For example, a news update at Space.com spoke of "Pallas, the largest asteroid, and Ceres, the dwarf planet formerly classified as an asteroid", whereas an IAU question-and-answer posting states, "Ceres is (or now we can say it was) the largest asteroid", though it then speaks of "other asteroids" crossing Ceres' path and otherwise implies that Ceres is still considered an asteroid. The