back to article Dawn probe slips Vesta's grip, heads for icy dwarf planet

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has left the gravitational pull of the giant asteroid Vesta behind after over a year of study and is rocketing towards the dwarf planet Ceres. The satellite, launched in September 2007, has been exploring and mapping Vesta for the first time, showing agency boffins an exotic and diverse building block …

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  1. Ru
    Headmaster

    "Ceres, our solar system's only dwarf planet"

    Uh, wasn't Pluto also classified as a dwarf planet, or are you still fighting the Man on that one?

    There's a handful of other probable ones (Eris? can't remember the rest) too.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "Ceres, our solar system's only dwarf planet"

      I've given up fighting The Man re Pluto (or to be more accurate, beaten into submission by Reg commentards).

      Wikipedia lists Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.

    2. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

      Re: "Ceres, our solar system's only dwarf planet"

      Ah, the key distinction is inner solar system: the others are wildly far out (man). Sorry!

      C.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ceres: "our solar system's only dwarf planet"

    Really?

    1. Steve Hosgood
      Headmaster

      Re: Ceres: "our solar system's only dwarf planet"

      Get the quote right, and all will be clear: "Ceres, our *inner* solar system's only dwarf planet and its largest asteroid".

      The clue is in the word "inner" :-)

      1. diodesign (Written by Reg staff) Silver badge

        Re: Steve Hosgood

        In fairness, the commenters above were probably looking at an old version of the article - the wording was qualified soon after go-live.

        C.

        1. AndrueC Silver badge
          Trollface

          Re: Steve Hosgood

          OOooh, that's cheating isn't it?

          Naughty editor. No beer for you tonight :)

          1. Fatman
            Pint

            Re: OOooh, that's cheating isn't it?

            I up voted you for this comment:

            Naughty editor. No beer for you tonight :)

  3. TimR

    Possibly

    Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris

  4. Tom Cooke

    Ceres

    Can't resist - Heinlein's "Rolling Stones", every sci-fi asteroid mining ref ever. Where's Klondike Pete on his rocket scooter?

  5. LPF
    Thumb Down

    Pluto is a planet

    End of! .. balls to the IAU

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Vesta

    Vesta, they made a right meal of it.

    See icon...

    1. Super Fast Jellyfish
      Joke

      Re: Vesta

      Strike a light!

  7. His Royal Yodaship
    Alien

    Eeeeekkkk!!!!

    20 seconds into the video, I thought it was a Martian heat ray coming over the horizon :-O

    Ullaaaaaa!

  8. Steve 76

    Lucy, you got some splainin to do. . .

    Planet, draft planet, baby planet, large asteroid.

    The boffins need to get their cover stories strait on this one, or will we just not talk about Pluto any further?

  9. Graham Marsden
    Happy

    Nice...

    ... but not a place you'd want to be marooned off...

  10. ian 22
    Angel

    "has left the gravitational pull of the giant asteroid Vesta"

    "has slipped the surly bonds of Vesta".

    There, fixed that for you, and turned Vesta into a dominatrix to boot.

  11. Martin Maloney
    Coat

    I just can't help it, folks

    Until Dawn went roamin', Vesta was a virgin.

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