Dwarf Planet Facts: Eris
Solar System

Dwarf Planet Facts: Eris

The dwarf planet designated 136199 Eris is named after the Greek goddess of strife, while its satellite, designated Dysnomia, is named after the goddess of lawlessness, who incidentally was Eris’ daughter. Eris is the most

Phobos and Deimos
Solar System

The Moons of Mars: Phobos and Deimos

Phobos is the larger and nearest of Mars’ two natural satellites, the other being Deimos. Both moons were discovered a few days apart in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall from the U.S. Naval Observatory

Makemake
Solar System

Dwarf Planet Facts: Makemake

The image above shows the dwarf planet 136472 Makemake, which with a diameter roughly 60% that of Pluto is possibly the biggest object in the “classical population” of the Kuiper belt. Upon its discovery by

Haumea
Solar System

Dwarf Planet Facts: Haumea

The dwarf planet designated 136108 Haumea and its two satellites were discovered by Mike Brown et al. (Caltech) at Palomar Observatory in 2004. Haumea is the largest member of its collisional family, a group of

Pluto
Solar System

Dwarf Planet Facts: Pluto

The image above shows a near true color picture of the dwarf planet designated 134340 Pluto, the first object to be discovered in the Kuiper Belt after Clyde Tombaugh identified it in 1930. Pluto is

Hygiea
Solar System

Asteroid Facts: Hygiea

The image above includes a light-curve derived 3D model of the C-type asteroid designated 10 Hygiea, the fourth largest asteroid in the solar system by both volume and mass, the latter of which is estimated