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THERE are eight planets in the solar system, according to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which changed Pluto’s classification from planet to dwarf planet in 2006.

Dwarf planets orbit the sun like regular planets and are big enough to become rounded under their own gravity, but they aren’t massive enough to clear their neighbourhood of other objects, while planets are.

Pluto is the most famous of the dwarf planets, but the solar system is full of objects that meet the classification: a . Officially, though, the . No matter which metric you look at, however, only one of these dwarf planets lives in the inner solar system, in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This makes Ceres a fantastic dwarf planet to find in the night sky.

Ceres was discovered in 1801, 45 years before the discovery of Neptune and 129 years before that of Pluto. Back then, it was considered a planet. In the 1850s, Ceres was reclassified as an asteroid, then it was transferred to the dwarf planet category, along with Pluto, in 2006.

When visible, Ceres is bright enough in the night sky to be seen with a pair of binoculars or a small telescope. On 27 November, Ceres is at opposition, meaning it is the closest it comes to Earth. It will be visible all night, and it should also be possible to see it nightly until the new moon on 4 December.

You will need a dark sky to find Ceres, so get yourself away from light pollution such as street or building lights, if you can. Let your eyes adjust for at least 15 minutes before trying to identify Ceres. Where it will appear will depend on the date and time, so use a . If you look during the dates I am suggesting, Ceres will be in the constellation Taurus.

Find Taurus using Orion. In the northern hemisphere, follow the three stars of Orion’s belt from left to right (in the southern, follow them right to left). This will guide you to the V-shaped Hyades star cluster, which contains the bright star Aldebaran. Keep your eyes moving and you will see the Pleiades star cluster, which looks like a tiny version of the Plough or the Big Dipper.

To find Ceres, identify the star Gamma Tauri, which marks the tip of the V of the Hyades cluster. Look between Gamma Tauri and the Pleiades cluster, only about the width of your thumb – or three full moons – away from Gamma Tauri. That is where Ceres will be on 27 November.

If you are unsure, use a stargazing app to identify the stars around where Ceres should be in the sky, before letting your eyes adjust and using binoculars or a telescope to find the dwarf planet. Happy hunting.

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