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Dwarf planet Makemake with orbiting moon, illustration
Illustration of the dwarf planet Makemake with orbiting moon. Makemake is more than 50 times farther away than Earth is from the Sun (at top). The moon orbiting Makemake, nicknamed MK 2, is approximately 21,000 kilometres from the dwarf planet with a diameter around 160 kilometres. Makemake is 1,400 kilometres wide and is located in the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune. Kuiper Belt objects are remnants from when the Solar System formed and are composed largely of frozen volatile ices such as methane, ammonia and water. Other Kuiper Belt objects include Pluto and Haumea. Makemake is named after a creation deity of the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island., by NASA/Goddard/Katrina Jackson/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
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