Ceres is the largest body in the main asteroid belt. It was recently explored by the Dawn mission to uncover strong similarities with other icy bodies. The morphological features observed on the surface of Ceres indicate a relatively wide range of water ice concentrations, leading us to investigate the magnitude and distribution of crustal density heterogeneities, and to consider whether they could have caused a reorientation of Ceres. Here, we present three independent and corroborating lines of evidence for the true polar wander of Ceres. Thanks to the global gravity inversion approach applied to the shape and gravity data of Ceres, we find crustal density heterogeneities up to approximately ±0.3 g cm⁻³, with a prominent positive density anomaly aligned with the equator, in the region of Ahuna Mons. The topography shows the remnants of an equatorial ridge compatible with the position of the palaeo-equator, and indicates that Ceres reoriented by approximately 36°, with the palaeo-pole following an indirect path to the current pole of Ceres. The tectonic patterns generated by the true polar wander are in close agreement with the location and orientation of the Samhain Catenae and Uhola Catenae crustal fractures. These results highlight the complex interior structure and richness of processes taking place in Ceres-scale icy bodies.

谷神星是小行星主带中最大的尸体。黎明任务最近对其进行了探索，以发现与其他冰冷机构的强烈相似之处。在谷神星表面观察到的形态特征表明水冰的浓度范围相对较宽，这使我们研究了地壳密度异质性的大小和分布，并考虑了它们是否可能引起谷神星的重新定向。在这里，我们为谷神星的真正极地漫游提供了三个独立且确凿的证据。由于对谷神星的形状和重力数据采用了全球重力反演方法，我们发现地壳密度异质性高达大约±0.3 g cm ^{- 3}，在Ahuna Mons地区具有与赤道对齐的突出的正密度异常。地形图显示了与古赤道位置兼容的赤道脊的残余物，并表明谷神星重新定向约36°，古极沿着一条间接路径到达谷神星的当前极点。真正的极地漂移产生的构造模式与Samhain Catenae和Uhola Catenae地壳裂缝的位置和方向非常吻合。这些结果突显了谷神星规模的冰体中复杂的内部结构和丰富的过程。