Dwarf planets · Dwarf planet

Makemake

6.8 billion km from the Sun · Light crosses it in 0.0048 seconds

Across

1,430 km

Vs Earth

11% of Earth

Mass

0.05% of Earth

Open Makemake in Cosmic Scale

About

Makemake is a bright, reddish world of methane ice in the Kuiper Belt, discovered shortly after Easter 2005 and nicknamed 'Easterbunny' before it was named after the creator god of Rapa Nui.

Named after the creator god of the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island.

At a glance

Orbit	305 years
Surface	Methane and ethane ice, −240 °C
Moons	One, found in 2016
Discovered	2005

Did you know

1. Its discovery, along with Eris, forced the debate that redefined what counts as a planet.
2. Its moon MK2 is very dark, which is why it went unnoticed for eleven years.
3. It has no thick atmosphere, unlike Pluto — a surprise when astronomers watched it pass in front of a star.