November 26, 2021
Tonight the dwarf planet Ceres reaches opposition. This occurs every year as Ceres appears near the antisolar point in the sky. From our view on Earth, Ceres can appear opposite the Sun because it is farther from the Sun. When an object reaches opposition, it will usually appear it brightest for the year. Ceres is expected to reach a visual magnitude of 6.99 making it a reasonable binocular target. Ceres will be found near the Hyades star cluster in Taurus the Bull.
Orthographic image of Ceres taken by Dawn spacecraft. The large crater in the Middle showing two large bright spots is called Occator Crater. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA