Haumea
Spinning once in under 4 hours, Haumea tumbles along at an egg-shape. Before it had a name, it was often nicknamed Santa Claus because it was discovered around Christmas 2004.
Haumea Stats
Average Distance from Sun: 6465.2 million km
Perihelion: 5228.7 million km Aphelion: 7701.7 million km Mass: 0.00067 times Earth Dimensions: 1960 x 1518 x 996 km Volume: 0.0014 times Earth Gravity: 0.045 times Earth (0.44 N/kg) Temperature: -240 C Rotation: 3.9 hours Revolution: 103 774 Earth days Moons: 2 Type: Dwarf planet Namesake: Haumea was the Hawaiian goddess of childbirth and fertility. |
Haumea Facts
- HAUMEA HAS HAD A COLLISION IN ITS PAST. Haumea is the densest dwarf planet (~3 g/cm^3) and is oddly shaped due to its unusually fast rotation. This is most likely because of a collision in its past, which could've also led to Haumea's moons Hi'iaka and Namaka.
- HAUMEA HAS A DARK SPOT. Discovered in 2009, this spot is most likely made of rich compounds and minerals.
- 2/3 TO 4/5 OF HAUMEA'S SURFACE IS CRYSTALLINE WATER ICE. Haumea's surface is believed to be made this way because it reflects about as much sunlight as snow does.
- HAUMEA HAS TWO MOONS. They are named after the daughters of Haumea (the goddess). They are named Hi'iaka and Namaka. Hi'iaka was nicknamed Rudolph and is around 310 km in diameter. It reflects more light than Namaka. Namaka is closer to Haumea and was nicknamed Blitzen. It's 1/10 the mass of Hi'iaka.