Cerium is element 58, a lanthanoid of the f block, in period 6. Its ground-state configuration is [Xe] 4f1 5d1 6s2, and it usually shows the oxidation states 0, 3, 4.
It was discovered in 1803, by Hisinger and Berzelius.
Name origin: the then recently discovered asteroid Ceres, considered a planet at the time.
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