The first asteroid to be discovered, by G. Piazzi on 1801 January 1, and hence given the number 1. Since 2006 it has also been classified as a dwarf planet. Ceres is by far the largest member of the asteroid belt, an oblate spheroid 965 × 891 km, mean diameter 940 km, mass 9.4 × 1020 kg (about 1% the mass of the Moon) and mean density 2.1 g/cm3. Its rotation period is 9.074 hours. Ceres contains roughly one-third the mass of the entire asteroid belt. Its mean magnitude at opposition is 7.4; only Vesta can ever become brighter. Its orbit has a semimajor axis of 2.77 au, period 4.61 years, perihelion 2.56 au, aphelion 2.98 au, and inclination 10°.6. Ceres is of G type, with a reflectance spectrum that indicates a surface composition resembling the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. However, its low density implies that beneath the surface it has a considerable layer of water ice surrounding a rocky core. Ceres is the largest member of a small family of asteroids with a mean distance of 2.76–2.80 au from the Sun and orbital inclinations of 9–11°. Other Ceres family members include (39) Laetitia, (264) Libussa, (374) Burgundia (all S-type), and (446) Aeternitas (A-type). NASA’s Dawn spacecraft went into orbit around it in 2015 March, revealing a surface saturated with impact craters, the largest of which is Kerwan, 280 km across, and detecting water ice inside some of the permanently shadowed craters near the poles.