makemake

Makemake is a dwarf planet and trans-Neptunian object in the Kuiper belt. It is among the largest known dwarf planets. It was discovered in 2005 by a team led by Mike Brown using the Palomar Observatory’s Samuel Oschin telescope. The object was nicknamed Easter Bunny during its discovery because of the season, before the International Astronomical Union gave it the name Makemake in 2008, after the creator deity of humanity in Rapa Nui mythology.

Makemake orbits the Sun at a distance of about 45 astronomical units and completes an orbit every roughly 306 years. It has a moderately inclined orbit and an eccentricity that keeps it well outside Neptune’s influence. The object is estimated to have a diameter of about 1,420 kilometers, and a high albedo, reflecting much sunlight from a surface covered by methane ice, with traces of other ices such as ethane and possibly water ice.

Observations suggest Makemake lacks a substantial atmosphere; any atmosphere would be extremely tenuous and would condense onto the surface during parts of its orbit. The surface is thought to host bright, methane-rich ice that dominates its visible spectrum.

Makemake has one known moon, designated S/2015 (Makemake) I, discovered in 2015 with the Hubble Space Telescope. The moon is relatively small and orbits Makemake at a close distance.