Previous observations of chilly Makemake have shown it to be similar to its fellow dwarf planets, leading some astronomers to expect its atmosphere, if present, to be similar to that of Pluto.
But astronomers led by Jose Luis Ortiz (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, CSIC, Spain) in a new study have found that like Eris, Makemake is not surrounded by a significant atmosphere. The team combined multiple observations using three telescopes at European Southern Observatory's La Silla and Paranal observing sites in Chile — the Very Large Telescope, New Technology Telescope, and TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope ) — with data from other small telescopes in South America , to look at Makemake as it passed in front of a distant star.
"As Makemake passed in front of the star and blocked it out, the star disappeared and reappeared very abruptly, rather than fading and brightening gradually. This means that the little dwarf planet has no significant atmospher," said Jose Luis Ortiz. "It was thought that Makemake had a good chance of having developed an atmosphere — that it has no sign of one at all shows just how much we have yet to learn about these mysterious bodies. Finding out about Makemake's properties for the first time is a big step forward in our study of select club of icy dwarf planets," Ortiz said.
The team's new observations add much more detail to the view of Makemake — determining its size more accurately , putting constraints on a possible atmosphere and estimating the dwarf planet's density for the first time.
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