They’re Out There

The known solar system continues to expand. While I was on vacation, astronomers gave a name and designation to an outer solar system world that’s roughly 3/4 the size of Pluto.  This plutoid (which is a subclass of dwarf planets), discovered in 2005, is now called Makemake (pronounced mah-kay mah-kay), or (136472) Makemake, if you’re sending a formal invitation for it to join the community of worlds. Mike Brown, the astronomer who discovered Makemake, has a great discussion about the name he selected for this world, which is a Kuiper Belt object. Essentially, he chose the  name of the god of fertility in the mythology of the South Pacific island of Rapa Nui at Easter Island.

We don’t really have a good image of Makemake, but my friend Robert Hurt at IPAC at Caltech, who does double duty as a scientist AND talented space artist, came up with this lovely artist’s conception of what the newest Plutoid might look like. It could have a moon, so Robert put one in.  We won’t know for sure until more detailed imaging and spectra can be done. It’s exciting to see more worlds being discovered “out there” on the frontier of the solar system!