Planetary Group Seminar: A tale about dwarfs (M. Hoffmann)

The Dawn spacecraft has visited asteroid Vesta and is now in orbit around dwarf planet Ceres. Its data revealed quite individual bodies despite similar size and similar location in the solar system. These “minor planets” are new milestones on the way to a revised view onto the planets: Classification as “planets”, “comets”, “satellites” becomes more misleading than describing. A comparative view on the former “asteroids” Vesta and Ceres will demonstrate this.