Make-make: the third Plutoid
Astronomy Picture of the Day is a brilliant resource with great pictures of the cosmos every day. It isn't usually a source of news for me but today is an exception. According to APoD, 2005 FY9 has finally been given a name and has joined the ranks of the plutoids. The new name for the large lump of stuff in the outer solar system tentatively named 2005 FY9 is Make-make (pronounced MAH-kay MAH-kay apparently). The name is that of the Polynesian creator of humanity and was suggested due to the placement of the discovery telescope on a Pacific island. Along with 2003 EL61 and 2003 UB313 (better known as Eris), Make-make was one of the objects discovered by Mike Brown that forced the IAU to reconsider the definition of a planet.
Although we have no images of the surface of Make-make, APoD have bravely substituted an artist's impression of Sedna until we do.
Comments: Make-make: the third Plutoid
Nothing "forced" the IAU to reconsider the definition of a planet except for a small group of dynamicists within the IAU itself.
Being in hydrostatic equilibrium, this object is a planet of the dwarf planet subcategory. Hopefully, the IAU will allow electronic voting at its next General Assembly and reverse the ridiculous determination that dwarf planets are not planets at all. We don't need the term "Goofyid" either. Kuiper Belt dwarf planet does just fine.
Posted by Laurel Kornfeld on Thursday 17th Jul 2008 (00:49 UTC)