Makemake was named after Makemake, the Rapanui god of fertility. This celestial body, classified as a dwarf planet, draws its name from the principal creator deity in the mythology of Easter Island (Rapa Nui).
The Rapanui God: Makemake
In the rich cultural tapestry of the Rapanui people, who are the indigenous inhabitants of Easter Island, Makemake holds a significant position. He is revered as:
- The Creator God: Believed to be the creator of humanity and the god responsible for the fertility of the land and the propagation of life.
- Chief God of the Birdman Cult (Tangata Manu): Makemake was central to the island's unique "birdman" (tangata manu) cult, which became the dominant religion after the decline of the moai statue-building era. This annual competition involved contestants swimming to a nearby islet to retrieve the first sooty tern egg of the season, with the winner becoming the "birdman" for a year, believed to embody Makemake.
- A Deity of Fertility and Prosperity: His influence was sought for successful harvests, abundant resources, and the well-being of the community.
The choice to name a distant dwarf planet after such a significant deity reflects the tradition of naming celestial bodies after mythological figures, often those associated with creation, transformation, or the underworld, given their remote and often mysterious nature.
Why This Naming Choice?
The International Astronomical Union (IAU), responsible for naming celestial objects, often selects names from mythologies around the world. For objects in the Kuiper Belt—the region beyond Neptune where Makemake resides—there's a preference for names associated with creation myths or underworld deities. Makemake fits this criterion perfectly as a creator and fertility god. The Kuiper Belt itself is a cold, distant region, and naming its inhabitants after figures of creation or rebirth can be seen as fitting.
Makemake: A Dwarf Planet Overview
Makemake is one of the largest known dwarf planets in our solar system and a prominent member of the Kuiper Belt.
Feature | Description |
---|---|
Classification | Dwarf Planet and Plutoid |
Discovery Date | March 31, 2005 |
Location | Kuiper Belt, beyond the orbit of Neptune |
Approximate Size | About two-thirds the size of Pluto (around 1,420 kilometers or 882 miles in diameter) |
Surface | Extremely cold, believed to be covered in frozen methane, ethane, and nitrogen, giving it a reddish-brown hue. |
Moon | Has one known moon, informally designated MK 2, discovered in 2016 by the Hubble Space Telescope. |
For more general information on dwarf planets, you can visit resources like NASA Science.
Other Notable Dwarf Planets and Their Namesakes
The naming convention extends to other dwarf planets as well, connecting them to various mythologies:
- Pluto: Named after the Roman god of the underworld, fitting for a cold, distant world.
- Eris: Named after the Greek goddess of discord and strife, reflecting the controversy surrounding its discovery and the reclassification of Pluto.
- Haumea: Named after the Hawaiian goddess of childbirth and fertility, due to its rapid rotation and unusual elongated shape, which resulted from impacts that likely "gave birth" to its moons.
- Ceres: Named after the Roman goddess of agriculture and grain, which is appropriate for the largest object in the asteroid belt, considered a "mother" of many smaller asteroids.
The naming of Makemake after the Rapanui god of fertility continues this rich tradition, imbuing distant celestial bodies with cultural and mythological significance.