Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label Haumea

Gonggong: The Eccentric Dwarf Planet

Gonggong , a name derived from the Chinese water god, is a dwarf planet that has captivated astronomers with its unique characteristics. Discovered in 2007 , this distant world has been a subject of fascination ever since. Let's delve into the details of this intriguing celestial body. History of Discovery Initially designated as 2007 OR10 , Gonggong's unusual orbit and reddish hue sparked interest among astronomers. As more data was collected, it became apparent that this object was larger and more massive than initially thought, meeting the criteria for dwarf planet classification. In 2016 , it was officially named Gonggong. Orbit and Location Residing in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune's orbit, Gonggong follows an exceptionally eccentric path. Its distance from the Sun varies significantly, ranging from approximately 33AU at perihelion and 60AU at aphelion . This extreme orbital eccentricity makes it a truly unique object in our solar system. Composition and Surface Whil...

Haumea: Dwarf Planet on a Long Journey

Haumea, a dwarf planet residing in the frigid Kuiper Belt, is a celestial oddity. Its most striking feature is its elongated shape, resembling an American football. This unusual characteristic, along with its mysterious past and intriguing properties, has captured the imagination of astronomers and space enthusiasts alike. Discovery and Naming The discovery of Haumea is shrouded in a bit of controversy. While the California Institute of Technology team led by Mike Brown is often credited with its discovery in 2005, evidence suggests that a Spanish team might have spotted it a few days earlier. The name Haumea is a nod to the Hawaiian goddess of childbirth and fertility. In keeping with the Hawaiian theme, its moons were named after the goddess's daughters. Orbit and Location Haumea calls the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune's orbit filled with icy bodies, its home. It takes a leisurely 285 Earth years for Haumea to complete one orbit around the Sun. Its orbital path is tilt...

Makemake: The brightest member of Kuiper Belt

Beyond the familiar orbits of our solar system's planets lies a mysterious realm of icy bodies known as the Kuiper Belt. Among these celestial wanderers is Makemake, a dwarf planet shrouded in an aura of intrigue. With its reddish hue, distant orbit, and enigmatic nature, Makemake has captivated the attention of astronomers and space enthusiasts alike. Let’s embark on a journey to explore this distant world and uncover its secrets. Discovery and Naming Makemake, a dwarf planet residing in the frigid expanse of the Kuiper Belt, was discovered on March 31, 2005, by a team led by Michael E. Brown at the Palomar Observatory in California. Initially nicknamed "Easterbunny" due to its discovery around Easter, it was later formally named after the Rapa Nui creation deity. This name reflects the object's position in the sky during its discovery. Composition and Characteristics Makemake, a substantial object with a diameter roughly two-thirds that of Pluto, is primarily compos...

The Dwarf Planets but farthest planets

Solar System, a topic of exploration which is vast and mysterious in itself, and perhaps this is because in spite of being our home town, it is so big that we have not been able to understand it 100%. In Solar System our parent star SUN has 8 planets revolving in its orientational orbit and out of that the third rocky habitable planet means EARTH is our home, where I am sitting and writing this blog… really fascinating! Solar System sounds like such a familiar name, right? Do we know it completely? You are saying right, we know about the parent star Sun and the 8 planets revolving around it and a little about Pluto, some asteroids, some moons, that's the solar system, right? Not actually, and today we are going to talk about the same topic which everyone knows but is under-rated, that is dwarf planets, you must know that Pluto is placed in the category of dwarf planets because it is small and its orbit is not like other planets, not only Pluto, there are more than 100 dwarf planets...