Thinking about the question and answers for Does the Moon have any oxygen in its atmosphere? begs the question, despite being considerably smaller than the Moon and further away from the sun, does Ceres have a similar atmosphere as the Moon?
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$\begingroup$ We'll probably find out soon. $\endgroup$– Keith ThompsonNov 10, 2013 at 5:33
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2 Answers
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In general, asteroids experience the same fundamental processes as the moon: solar wind, micrometeorites and photons from the sun are striking them and sputtering material off to form an exosphere. So there must be some sort of exosphere, but its density and composition will vary with distance from the sun, as well as the gravity and composition of the asteroid.
A 1992 ultraviolet study of Ceres found $OH$ emission, consistent with escaping water, and suggesting a ice cap.
But a more recent study with the more sensitive VLT did not detect $OH$, limiting the maximum amount of water produced per second to $7 \times 10^{25}$ molecules per second at the time of the observation.
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2$\begingroup$ So equivalent to somewhat less than 2 liters liquid water per second . $\endgroup$ Dec 21, 2016 at 15:06
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This is an old question but I thought it good to add an update since more information has become available.
Ceres has indeed been confirmed by Dawn to have a tenuous atmosphere created by ice sublimating off the surface.
