New Discovery, surprisingly not about Pluto this time

According to the New York Times yesterday, the International Astronomical Union named the third plutoid in our solar system. A plutoid is subplanet, and there are currently three within our solar system, Pluto (the former planet), Eris and now Makemake.

Makemake (pronounced MAH-keh MAH keh) is its name, and it is a red methane-covered dwarf planet formerly known as “Easterbunny” upon its discovery in 2005. “The orbit is not particularly strange, but the object itself is big, probably about two-thirds the size of Pluto,” stated Dr. Michael E. Brown of the California Institute of Technology.


Dr. Brown is responsible for the discovery and naming of this third plutoid. While searching for a mythological god, he came upon the name Makemake, the chief god among the people of Easter Island, and thought it would be suitable based upon its previous classified name. Should be interesting to see what the next discovery is. It is amazing to think that in the year 2008 we are still finding significant new discoveries.

Brittany Hoke contributed to this report.