MAKEMAKE – Fourth Dwarf Planet | Planets Of The Solar System

MAKEMAKE – In this topic, we will now know one the five different known dwarf planets, the fourth identified dwarf planet Makemake.

According to Space, it was the fourth identified dwarf planet that was discovered on March 2005. It was also one of the dwarf planets that made Pluto lose its status.

It was formerly known as 2005 FY9 and was nicknamed Easterbunny by the Palomar Oservatory, who discovered two other planets Haumea and Eris.

The planet was named after the Rapa Nui god of fertility. Rapa Nui live on the Easter Island in the southeast Pacific Ocean and the god, where the planet was named to was the chief god and the creator of humanity.

The dwarf planet is reddish-brown in color, which made scientist deduce that the surface has a layer of methane. There is also presence of frozen ethane and frozen nitrogen.

It travels through the Kuiper Belt, which is a region of ice and rock at the outer edges of the solar system. It spins on its axis every 22.5 hours, a bit shorter than the Earth.

Its moon, nicknamed MK 2, is, unlike Makemake, is as dark as charcoal. This is possibly due to its very weak gravity.