Dwarf Planets

We’ve heard a lot about Pluto, which was once called the ninth planet of the solar system and is now classified as one of the dwarf planets.

This category was established by the International Astronomical Union in 2006, following the discovery of new objects similar to Pluto that did not fit the characteristics of other planets.

We already have an article on Space Blog about Pluto and the discussions surrounding it (check it out here!).

However, many people often don’t know about the other dwarf planets in our solar system.

Currently, we recognize four dwarf planets in our solar system in addition to Pluto: Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.

These celestial bodies usually have very small masses, are not dominant stars in their orbits, and sometimes have moons similar to the dwarf planets they orbit.

Ceres is closer than you might think.

Located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, the largest object in this region is the closest dwarf planet to the Sun, named after an asteroid discovered by astronomers long ago. Ceres’ mass accounts for about 25% of the total mass of the belt.

The name Ceres comes from the Roman goddess of harvest, and the word “grain” is derived from this name.

Unlike many known planets that do not have this element, Ceres was the first dwarf planet visited by the Dawn mission.

Haumea is the third closest dwarf planet to the Sun (after Ceres and Pluto).

It is the fastest rotating object in our solar system, completing a revolution in just four hours.

Due to this rapid rotation, it takes on an oval shape, as seen in images.

It is located in the Kuiper Belt, a vast cold mass of millions of icy objects in our solar system, just beyond Neptune’s orbit. Haumea is surrounded by two moons, Namaka and Hayaka, and it was the first object in the belt to be identified as having rings.

The name Haumea comes from the Hawaiian goddess of fertility.

Makemake is the next dwarf planet and is also located in the Kuiper Belt. It is the second brightest object in the belt after Haumea.

The name comes from Rapanui mythology, referring to a fertility god.

This dwarf planet has one known moon, MK 2.

The largest dwarf planet is Pluto, but Eris is named after the Greek goddess of strife and is just slightly larger than our Moon.

Eris has a moon named Disnomia, which orbits around it in a nearly circular path.

Among the identified dwarf planets, Eris is the farthest from the Sun, taking over 9 hours for sunlight to reach it.

Check out our blog post about Pluto, the most famous dwarf planet, formerly known as the ninth planet of the Solar System.

Conclusion

In “The Incredible Cold and Distant World of Pluto,” you will learn about the discoveries made by New Horizons and understand what makes this celestial body considered a dwarf planet.

Beyond Neptune’s orbit, in the cold and dark region of the Solar System, a vast mass of icy material left over from the formation of our planetary system orbits the Sun. This region, known as the Kuiper Belt (pronounced “kiper”), was proposed by astronomer Gerard Kuiper in 1951, but it took 40 years to be confirmed.

In addition to studying the elements of the Solar System, Kuiper was a mentor to none other than Carl Sagan.

The objects inhabiting this region are known as KBOs, which stands for Kuiper Belt Objects, and the largest among them fall into the category of dwarf planets.

The only case of a dwarf planet that is not a KBO is Ceres, located in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Pluto is the largest of the KBOs and was the first to be discovered, with nearly 60 years passing before the second member of this distant family was found.

KBOs are small; even Pluto, the largest of them, is smaller than our Moon. However, they often have a small moon orbiting them.

Imagine how difficult it is to find such a moon, given that KBOs are already small and distant in the solar system.

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Source of information: g1.globo.com

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