A dwarf planet the size of Pluto will be closer to Earth overnight on Thursday (20). We are talking about Haumea, an object that has rings, two moons and is shaped like an American football
With a 285-year orbit around the Sun, Haumea will now be at the closest approach to Earth that its trajectory allows. This does not mean that it will be visible to the naked eye, because even during this approach, it will be at a distance of 34 Astronomical Units, that is, 34 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
Even so, this is a good opportunity for owners of small telescopes, as Haumea can be 51 Astronomical Units away from Earth, making observation difficult even for larger instruments.
Observers will be able to find the dwarf planet from 9:55 pm, 30 degrees above the horizon, a suitable position for viewing, towards the celestial northeast. Unfortunately, its magnitude predicted by Stellatium will not allow observation with 50mm aperture binoculars.
Haumea was discovered by two different groups of astronomers between 2003 and 2004 and was considered a Kuiper Belt asteroid until the day Pluto was “downgraded” to a dwarf planet. With this decision by the International Astronomical Union, objects similar in size to the former planet became part of the new family of dwarf planets, alongside Eris and Makemake.
Its curious shape in the shape of an American football ball is due to the fact that its rotation is very fast: just 4 hours to complete a revolution around itself. Because of the centrifugal force generated at that speed, the dwarf planet became stretched out. Additionally, he has rings and two moons, Namaka and Hi’iaka.
Source: Space.com
