Makemake
What is Makemake?
Dwarf planets· Diameter 1,430 km. After Pluto, the brightest-looking dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt: a reddish world coated in methane ice, with one small, dark moon.
Orbit and size
| Diameter | 1,430 km |
|---|---|
| Distance | 38~53 AU |
| Year | 306 yr |
| Note | red methane-ice surface, one moon |
Figures are representative approximations. Source: compiled from NASA and IAU public data.
The Sun as seen from Makemake, 52 AU away
Makemake is now about 52 AU from the Sun, 52 times the distance between the Sun and Earth. It will pass its farthest point in 2033 and then slowly move closer, reaching its nearest point, 38 AU, in 2186. Because one lap takes 306 years, its seasons change very slowly.
From that far away the Sun looks like a bright point rather than a disk. Light weakens with the square of distance, so sunlight at Makemake is about 2,700 times dimmer than at Earth. Even so, it is still about 150 times brighter than a full Moon seen from Earth, enough to tell day from night. The surface temperature is around minus 240 degrees Celsius.
Makemake's moon was spotted in Hubble Space Telescope images taken in 2015 and announced in 2016. It is about 175 km across but very dark, which is why it stayed hidden for so long beside bright Makemake. Makemake itself is fairly bright, yet it was not found until 2005, because its steeply tilted orbit kept it outside the parts of the sky that earlier surveys mainly searched.
The dwarf planet in depth
Makemake was discovered on 31 March 2005 by Michael Brown's team. Found just after Easter, it was named after the creator god of the people of Easter Island (Rapa Nui). At 1,430 km across it is about 60 percent the size of Pluto. It moves between 38 and 53 AU from the Sun and takes 306 years per lap, on an orbit tilted 29 degrees from the plane of the planets.
Its surface is covered in methane and ethane ice. When such ice is exposed for a long time to sunlight and particles from space, it turns into reddish material, which is why Makemake looks red. In 2011 Makemake passed in front of a distant star and the starlight vanished abruptly. Air would have made the light fade gradually, so Makemake has no thick atmosphere.
Recent observations with the James Webb Space Telescope hint that Makemake may not be just a quiet ball of ice. In 2024 researchers reported more infrared light than expected; one reading is a warm ice-volcano hot spot, another a ring of dust. In 2025 traces of methane gas were reported. What these results mean is still being studied.
Frequently asked
- How big is Makemake?
- The diameter of Makemake is 1,430 km.
- How far is Makemake from Earth?
- The distance of Makemake is 38~53 AU.
- What is notable about Makemake?
- The note of Makemake is red methane-ice surface, one moon.
Related
Figures are representative approximations. Simulated positions use J2000 mean elements.