spacetoday.net: Dwarf planet named

Posted: Tue, Jul 22, 2008, 7:16 AM ET (1116 GMT)
Makemake dwarf planet illustration (IAU)

An object in the outer solar system whose discovery helped trigger a new definition for the term "planet" has been given an official name. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced Saturday that object 2005 FY9 is now officially known as 136472 Makemake, the Polynesian creator of humanity and god of fertility. The name was proposed by Mike Brown, the Caltech astronomer who discovered the object. The discovery of Makemake, slightly smaller than Pluto, along with two other objects, Eris and 2003 EL61, prompted a debate on the definition of a planet that led to a 2006 IAU vote that effectively demoted Pluto from planethood. Pluto, Eris, Makemake, and the largest asteroid, Ceres, are all classified as "dwarf planets" by the IAU.