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. – source
Original post by interia@firma.interia.pl (INTERIA.PL)



