Dwarf Planet Makemake in Outer Solar System Measured

Recently there was an excellent opportunity to measure the size and shape of the dwarf planet Makemake, one of the largest objects in the Kuiper belt located in the outer regions of our solar system. The analysis of the results provided by a stellar occultation, with Makemake in front of the starlight, were reported to be precise measurements of the lengths of the projected axes, the albedo, and even the density of Makemake, but these results were, in part, derived from qualitative arguments.

But reanalyzing the occultation timing data using a quantitative statistical description found the previously reported results on the shape of Makemake to be unjustified. In the new solution, using inference from photometric data that Makemake is being viewed nearly pole-on, the equatorial diameter was measured as 1434 +/- 14 km with a projected polar diameter of 1422 +/- 14 km, yielding an albedo of 0.81+0.01/-0.02$.

The density of this pretty significant rocky dwarf planet is still unknown, along with many other features. Makmake promises to still keep many secrets and will continue to be an exciting and mysterious research object for a long time - since spacecraft will probably not arrive there before some decades passed.