Makemake is a "dwarf planet" orbiting the Sun. It is about an eighth of the diameter of Earth. Discovered just prior to Easter in 2005, it had been nicknamed "Easterbunny" by scientists, but was officially designated Makemake in July 2008 by the International Astronomical Union.1 It is named after a creator god worshiped by the inhabitants of Easter Island (a.k.a. Rapa Nui).2
Makemake is one of four dwarf planets known to exist in the solar system, including Pluto, Eris and Ceres. As defined by the International Astronomical Union, a dwarf planet is an object large enough to have been made round by its own gravitational force, but still not massive enough to have "cleared its neighborhood" of other large objects.3
