Dwarf Planet Makemake Isn't Alone

D-brief
By John Wenz
Apr 26, 2016 11:54 PMNov 20, 2019 5:08 AM
makemake-moon.jpg

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The newly discovered moon, MK 2, found in Hubble data orbiting Makemake. (Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Parker)

In 2005, Caltech astronomers Mike Brown and Chad Trujillo discovered dwarf planet Makemake, currently believed to be the third largest object in the Kuiper Belt after Pluto and Eris. But at the time, astronomers believed it was alone out there on its long path around the Sun. But new data from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal a moon around the tiny world, and offer a little explanation as to where it was hiding.

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