Makemake
From Conservapedia
| Makemake | |
|---|---|
| Date of discovery | 31 March 2005 |
| Name of discoverer | Michael Brown, Chad Trujillo, David Rabinowitz |
| Name origin | The creator of humanity in the mythos of the native people of Easter Island |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Primary | Sun |
| Order from primary | 12 |
| Perihelion | 38.509 AU |
| Aphelion | 53.074 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 45.791 AU |
| Titius-Bode prediction | unknown |
| Orbital eccentricity | 0.159 |
| Sidereal year | 309.88 a |
| Synodic year | 113 183da |
| Avg. orbital speed | 4.419 km/s |
| Inclination | 28.96° to the ecliptic |
| Rotational characteristics | |
| Sidereal day | unknown |
| Rotational speed | unknown |
| Axial tilt | unknown |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mass | ~4 × 1021 kg |
| Density | ~2 g/cm³ (assumed) |
| Mean radius | 750+200−100 km[3] |
| Surface gravity | ~0.47 m/s² |
| Escape speed | ~0.84 km/s |
| Surface area | ~7,000,000 km² |
| Mean temperature | 30–35 K |
| Number of moons | 0 |
Makemake is a dwarf planet, located in the Kuiper Belt and the next brightest object in the Kuiper belt after Pluto. It is also classified as a plutoid.
Originally designated 2005 FY9, the International Astronomical Union announced on 19 July 2008 that Makemake (pronounced Mah-keh Mah-heh) satisfied the requirements for definition as a dwarf planet, making it the fourth dwarf planet to be added to the solar system, along with Pluto, Ceres, Eris, and later followed by Haumea. [1]
Makemake was discovered on 31 March 2005, by a team from the California Institute of Technology, led by Michael Brown. They assigned the unofficial name of "Easterbunny" to the planet, given that the finding took place so close to Easter. The official name pays homage to this, in that Makemake was the creator of humanity and the god of fertility in the mythology of the South Pacific island of Rapa Nui, now known as Easter Island.
Makemake's discovery was important as its discovery, along with that of Eris and Haumea, prompted the IAU to firstly reconsider the definition of a planet, and secondly to create the new group for dwarf planets.
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