Blogs / 80beats

A cold and sterile chunk of rock orbiting the sun in the vicinity of Neptune and Pluto has been officially named Makemake, after a Polynesian god. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has also designated Makemake the solar system’s fourth dwarf planet and third “plutoid,” as researchers’ new aptitude for locating small orbital bodies has required a new and controversial system of classification.

Astronomers discovered Makemake (pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh)… in 2005 and believe its surface is covered by a layer of frozen methane. It is bright enough to be seen by a high-end amateur telescope [SPACE.com]. Researchers say it’s about two-thirds the size of Pluto.

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It’s been nearly two years since the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted to remove poor Pluto from the list of our solar system’s true planets, putting the lie to what generations of kids learned in science class. Pluto was demoted to a “dwarf planet,” making it just one of many cold chunks of rock scattered at the fringe of the solar system.

Maybe the astronomers felt a little guilty about about kicking Pluto out of the planetary club, so they’ve come up with a gesture to make amends. From now on Pluto won’t just be any dwarf planet, it will be a ‘plutoid’ [New Scientist]. The category name will apply to all dwarf planets beyond the orbit of Neptune, which sounds like quite an honor until you realize that there’s only one other such object, a dwarf planet named Eris that was discovered in 2005.

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