Facts about Haumea

1. 08

   Haumea's discovery in the Kuiper Belt revealed a collision event approximately 100 million years ago that fractured the dwarf planet and created its moon system.

   HaumeaMay 14sharecollisionhistoryorbitalmechanics
2. 07

   Haumea's mass is approximately 4.2 × 10^21 kilograms, roughly one-third that of Earth's moon despite being a dwarf planet.

   HaumeaMay 14shareastronomymeasurementcomposition
3. 06

   Located in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune's orbit, Haumea belongs to a collisional family of icy bodies sharing similar orbital characteristics and compositions.

   HaumeaMay 14shareastronomykuiperbeltorbitalmechanics
4. 05

   Haumea's discovery in 2004 prompted the International Astronomical Union to create a new dwarf planet classification, fundamentally changing how astronomers categorize small solar system bodies.

   HaumeaMay 14shareastronomyclassificationhistory
5. 04

   Haumea's surface contains crystalline water ice, making it significantly brighter than most other dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt.

   HaumeaMay 14sharecompositionastronomysurface
6. 03

   Two small moons, Hi'iaka and Namaka, orbit Haumea in a complex dance with orbital periods of 49.5 and 34.7 days respectively.

   HaumeaMay 14shareastronomyorbitalmechanicsmoons
7. 02

   Haumea's elongated shape, caused by its rapid rotation, measures approximately 2,322 by 1,113 kilometers across its major and minor axes.

   HaumeaMay 14sharemeasurementastronomyshape
8. 01

   Discovered in 2004, the dwarf planet Haumea rotates once every 3.9 hours, making it one of the fastest-spinning bodies in our solar system.

   HaumeaMay 13shareastronomymeasurementdiscovery