Which element was named after the dwarf planet Ceres?

The element named after the dwarf planet Ceres is cerium.

Cerium is element 58, a soft, silvery metal in the lanthanide series. It was discovered in 1803 by Jöns Jakob Berzelius and Wilhelm Hisinger in Sweden, independently alongside Martin Heinrich Klaproth’s work in Germany. The element was named after Ceres, which had been discovered two years earlier in 1801.

Cerium is the most abundant of the lanthanides in Earth’s crust. It readily oxidizes in air and can form a surface layer of oxide. Cerium compounds are used in glass polishing, catalysts, lighter flints, and some specialized optical and industrial materials.

Cerium should not be confused with cerium oxide’s trade applications or with other astronomical names in the periodic table. Plutonium and neptunium were named after planets, while uranium was named after Uranus.