Since Makemake has a diameter of more than 1,400 km (900 miles), it is large enough for gravity to have made its shape round, and thus in 2008 it was designated as a dwarf planet as well as a plutoid. Trujillo, and D. Rabinowitz at the Palomar Observatory. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Despite being smaller than Pluto, Makemake is the second brightest … Before joining Encyclopaedia Britannica in 2007, he worked at the University of Chicago Press on the Astrophysical... Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Currently, there is no information on the internal structure of Makemake.

Originally called 2005 FY9, Makemake is named after the creator god of the Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island; the name alludes to its discovery by astronomers at Palomar Observatory on March 31, 2005, a few days after Easter. Introduction. Makemake was discovered Mar. A majority of people weren’t aware that dwarf planets existed until the former ninth … Brown, C.A. IT'S IMPRESSIVELY BRIGHT.

Being … Size and Distance This means its orbit lies far enough from Neptune to not … It was the fourth body identified as a dwarf planet, and was one of the bodies that caused Pluto to lose its status as a planet. Makemake, dwarf planet orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Pluto. Its rotation period is 7.771 hours, and it has one moon, which was found in Hubble Space Telescope images taken in 2015. Makemake is a classical Kuiper belt object. Originally called 2005 FY9, Makemake is named after the creator god of the Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island; the name alludes to its discovery by astronomers at Palomar Observatory on March 31, 2005, a few days after Easter. NASA - Solar System Exploration - Makemake, Makemake - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Internal Structure. Makemake is a dwarf planet in the outer solar system.

Makemake orbits the Sun every 306 years and is reddish in colour. 31, 2005 by M.E. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. : a dwarf planet that orbits within the Kuiper belt with a mean distance from the sun of 46 astronomical units (6.85 billion kilometers) and a diameter of approximately 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) As well as being a remarkable moon in its own right, Triton may be giving us a hazy picture of all the unexplored dwarf planets—not just Pluto, but also Eris, Makemake, Haumea and probably dozens more … Erik Gregersen is a senior editor, specializing in the physical sciences and technology.

Get kids back-to-school ready with Expedition: Learn! Makemake, dwarf planet orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Pluto. Hubble Space Telescope image showing the dwarf planet Makemake and its moon, April 2015. The moon's orbital plane is nearly edge-on to Earth. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.