This is what an artist thinks Haumea looks like. This drawing shows the dwarf planet and its two moons Hi'iaka and Namaka. Notice how Haumea's fast spin has stretched it into an oval (not spherical) shape.
Click on image for full size
Images courtesy of NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI).

Haumea (dwarf planet)

Haumea is a dwarf planet in our Solar System. Haumea is officially the fifth dwarf planet. The four that came before it are Pluto, Eris, Ceres, and Makemake. Haumea was classified a dwarf planet in September 2008.

Haumea is a large Kuiper Belt Object (KBO). It is an icy world that orbits far from the Sun on the frozen fringes of our Solar System. Because it is so far away, Haumea takes 285 years to orbit the Sun once! Haumea is usually a bit further from the Sun than Pluto.

Haumea is smaller than both Pluto and Eris. Haumea has an odd shape. It is not a sphere. It is spinning so quickly that it has been stretched into the shape of an ellipsoid (a 3D ellipse). Haumea is 1,960 km (1,218 miles) across at its longest. It is only about half that far across - 996 km (619 miles) - along its shortest axis.

The "days" are really short on Haumea. This weird object spins around in less than four hours! Haumea is fairly dense. That means it is probably made mostly of rock. Most other KBOs probably have more ice in them than Haumea. This dwarf planet has known moons, both discovered in 2005. Their names are Hi'iaka and Namaka.

Astronomers think Haumea collided with another large object a long time ago. A collision like that might explain Haumea's strange shape and why it spins so fast. The big collision might have knocked away most of Haumea's lightweight ice, leaving behind heavier rock. Haumea's moons may be leftover stuff from the collision.

In the mythology of Hawaii, 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.

There are two different groups that might get credit for discovering Haumea. One group is led by Mike Brown of the California Institute of Technology. The other group's leader is José Luis Ortiz Moreno at the Sierra Nevada Observatory in Spain. Haumea was discovered sometime between March 2003 and July 2005.

Haumea was called 2003 EL61 before it got its official, permanent name. It had been nicknamed "Santa" by Brown's group because they discovered it near Christmas in 2004.

Last modified October 8, 2008 by Randy Russell.

You might also be interested in:

Traveling Nitrogen Classroom Activity Kit

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Dwarf Planets

In 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved a new classification scheme for planets and smaller objects in our Solar System. Their scheme includes three classes of objects: "small solar...more

Pluto

Pluto is a frigid ball of ice and rock that orbits far from the Sun on the frozen fringes of our Solar System. Considered a planet, though a rather odd one, from its discovery in 1930 until 2006, it was...more

Eris - a dwarf planet

Eris is a dwarf planet in our Solar System. Eris was one of the first three objects classified as a dwarf planet, along with Pluto and Ceres. Eris was first spotted in January 2005. Eris is a large sphere...more

Makemake: a Dwarf Planet

Makemake is a dwarf planet in our Solar System. Makemake was discovered in March 2005 by a team of astronomers led by Mike Brown. Makemake officially became a dwarf planet in July 2008. There were three...more

Elliptical Orbits

You may think that most objects in space that orbit something else move in circles, but that isn't the case. Although some objects follow circular orbits, most orbits are shaped more like "stretched...more

Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNO)

The outer edge of our Solar System is not empty. There are many huge spheres of rock and ice out near Pluto's orbit and beyond. Astronomers have a name for everything further out than the planet Neptune....more

Density Definition Page

Density is a measure of how much mass is contained in a given unit volume (density = mass/volume). It is usually expressed in kg/m^3. Put simply, if mass is a measure of how much ‘stuff’ there is in an...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA