This artist's impression shows Haumea and its moons Hi'iaka and Namaka. In this picture, relative sizes are to scale but the distances between Haumea and its moons are not. Click on image for full size (25 Kb) Images courtesy of NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI).

Haumea is a dwarf planet in our Solar System. Haumea is the fifth object officially classified as a dwarf planet; the previous four are Pluto, Eris, Ceres, and Makemake. The International Astronomical Union announced Haumea's official status as a dwarf planet in September 2008. Haumea has known moons, both discovered in 2005.

The larger moon, Hi'iaka has a diameter of about 310 km (193 miles). It orbits Haumea once every 49 days at a distance of 49,500 km (30,758 miles). Hi'iaka was discovered on January 26, 2005 by a team of astronomers led by Mike Brown of the California Institute of Technology. It appears that the surface of the moon is covered with ice.

Namaka is the smaller moon. It is roughly 170 km (106 miles) across. Namaka orbits Haumea every 34.7 days at a distance of 39,300 km (24,420 miles). Namaka was discovered on June 30, 2005, though the discovery announcement wasn't made until November 29, 2005. It was also discovered by Mike Brown's group.

Astronomers think Haumea may have collided with another large object a long time ago. This suspected collision may have produced the dwarf planet's odd shape and high rotation rate. It may have also created Haumea's moons as leftover debris from the collision coalesced.

In Hawaiian mythology, Haumea is the goddess of fertility and childbirth. Her children include Hi'iaka and Namaka, as well as the Hawaiian volcano and fire goddess Pele. Namaka was a sea goddess or water spirit. Hi'iaka was the patron goddess of hula dancers. In one Hawaiian myth, Haumea's children were born by springing from various parts of the body of their mother. This is especially apt in light of the theory about a massive collision in Haumea's past. Perhaps the two moons did, indeed, "spring forth" from the body of their "mother".

Mike Brown's team at Caltech first noticed Haumea shortly after Christmas in 2004. They used the nickname "Santa" to refer to the new object until an official name was determined. Sticking with this theme, the Caltech team nicknamed Hi'iaka "Rudolph" and Namaka "Blitzen"!

This picture shows what an artist thinks Haumea and its moons look like. The moons, Hi'iaka and Namaka, are actually much further from Haumea than shown here. Click on image for full size (25 Kb) Images courtesy of NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI).

Haumea is a dwarf planet in our Solar System. Haumea has known moons, both discovered in 2005.

Hi'iaka is the larger moon. It has a diameter of about 310 km (193 miles). It orbits Haumea once every 49 days at a distance of 49,500 km (30,758 miles). Hi'iaka was discovered on January 26, 2005. It was discovered by a team of astronomers led by Mike Brown of the California Institute of Technology.

Namaka is the smaller moon. It is roughly 170 km (106 miles) across. Namaka orbits Haumea every 34.7 days at a distance of 39,300 km (24,420 miles). Namaka was discovered on June 30, 2005. It was also discovered by Mike Brown's group.

Astronomers think Haumea may have collided with another large object a long time ago. If true, that might explain the dwarf planet's odd shape and fast spin. The collision might have also created Haumea's moons. Pieces of debris left over from the collision may have come together to make the moons.

In Hawaiian mythology, Haumea is the goddess of fertility and childbirth. Hi'iaka and Namaka are two of her children. Namaka was a sea goddess or water spirit. Hi'iaka was the goddess of hula dancers. In some Hawaiian myths, Haumea's children were born by springing from various parts of the body of their mother. If Haumea's moons were created from pieces of the dwarf planet left over from a collision, then this may be the perfect myth. Maybe the two "children" (moons) really were "born" by "springing forth" from their "mother" (the dwarf planet)!

Mike Brown's team at Caltech first noticed Haumea right after Christmas in 2004. They used the nickname "Santa" for the new object until it was given an official name. When they found the moons, the Caltech team stuck with the Christmas theme. They nicknamed Hi'iaka "Rudolph" and Namaka "Blitzen"!

This picture shows what an artist thinks Haumea and its moons look like. The moons, Hi'iaka and Namaka, are actually much further from Haumea than shown here. Click on image for full size (25 Kb) Images courtesy of NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI).

Haumea is a dwarf planet in our Solar System. Haumea has known moons, both discovered in 2005.

Hi'iaka is the larger moon. It has a diameter of about 310 km (193 miles). It orbits Haumea once every 49 days. It is about 49,500 km (30,758 miles) away from Haumea. Hi'iaka was discovered on January 26, 2005. It was discovered by a team of astronomers led by Mike Brown.

Namaka is the smaller moon. It is roughly 170 km (106 miles) across. Namaka orbits Haumea every 34.7 days at a distance of 39,300 km (24,420 miles). Namaka was discovered on June 30, 2005. It was also discovered by Mike Brown's group.

Astronomers think Haumea may have crashed into another large object a long time ago. Maybe that's why the dwarf planet spins so fast and has such an odd shape. The crash might have also created Haumea's moons. Pieces of Haumea left over from the crash might have come together to make the moons.

In Hawaiian mythology, Haumea is the goddess of fertility and childbirth. Hi'iaka and Namaka are two of her children. Namaka was a sea goddess or water spirit. Hi'iaka was the goddess of hula dancers.

Mike Brown's team at Caltech first spotted Haumea right after Christmas in 2004. They used the nickname "Santa" for the new object until it was given an official name. When they found the moons, the Caltech team stuck with the Christmas theme. They nicknamed Hi'iaka "Rudolph" and Namaka "Blitzen"!