Ceres is a dwarf planet.
Several bright surface features ( also known as faculae ) were discovered on the dwarf planet Ceres by the Dawn spacecraft in 2015 . Ceres (dwarf planet) . The 33rd-largest known body in the Solar System , it is the only dwarf planet within the orbit of Neptune.Due to its eccentric orbit , the dwarf planet Pluto was also within the orbit of Neptune from 1979 to 1999 , and will be again from approximately 2227 to 2247 . Two distinct bright spots ( or high-albedo features ) inside a crater ( different from the bright spots observed in earlier Hubble images ) were seen in a 19 February 2015 image , leading to speculation about a possible cryovolcanic origin or outgassing . Dawn (spacecraft) . It is currently in orbit about its second target , the dwarf planet Ceres .