Can we see the largest asteroid in the Solar System (Ceres)?
Question:
Answer:
If you've got a really good telescope... yeah!
In fact if you're really lucky on the right night in the right place at the right time you can see it with your own eyes without a telescope...that is if you know where to look for it!
how else would we know its there?
use a telescope
Yes we certainly can see it. In fact it was discovered in the 1801 and was considered a planet back then. Ceres is now considered a type of Dwarf planet under the latest International Astronomical Union meeting.
From the wiki... " At certain points in its orbit, Ceres can reach a magnitude of 7.0. This is generally regarded as being just barely too dim to be seen with the naked eye, but under exceptional viewing conditions a very sharp-sighted person may be able to see the asteroid with the naked eye. The only other asteroid that can be seen with the naked eye is 4 Vesta."
You cannot see it without a telescope, but binoculars would show it as a point of light, like a star. You need a giant telescope to see any detail at all. The best picture was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and it barely shows any detail.
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