Which mathematician and astronomer discovered the first known asteroid, Ceres, in 1801?

Giuseppe Piazzi discovered Ceres, the first known asteroid, in 1801.

Piazzi was an Italian Catholic priest, mathematician, and astronomer who directed the observatory in Palermo, Sicily. On 1 January 1801, he observed a star-like object that moved against the background stars. He initially named it Ceres Ferdinandea, after the Roman goddess Ceres and King Ferdinand of Sicily.

Ceres was first classified as a planet, then as an asteroid after many similar bodies were found between Mars and Jupiter. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union reclassified it as a dwarf planet. Ceres remains the largest object in the asteroid belt.

A common mix-up is crediting Caroline Herschel, who discovered several comets but not Ceres. Piazzi’s discovery began the study of the asteroid population between the terrestrial and giant planets.