Nasa 'Dawn' probe approaching Ceres

The US space agency's Dawn probe is set to go into orbit around Ceres, the largest object in the Solar System between Mars and Jupiter.

It has taken the satellite 7.5 years to reach its destination, and it will spend the next 14 months mapping the diminutive world.

Ceres is the first of the dwarf planets to be visited by a spacecraft.

Jonathan Amos reports.