Dwarf Planets
Worlds large enough to be rounded by their own gravity, yet sharing their orbital neighborhood with other cosmic bodies. Step into the realm of Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake.
Pluto
Kuiper Belt KingReclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006, Pluto features nitrogen-ice glaciers, nitrogen atmosphere hazes, and a heart-shaped glacier named Sputnik Planitia. It shares a binary orbit with its giant moon Charon.
Ceres
Asteroid Belt GiantThe only dwarf planet inside the inner Solar System, Ceres accounts for a third of the main asteroid belt's total mass. NASA's Dawn mission discovered mysterious bright sodium carbonate spots in Occator crater.
Eris
Massive Remote WorldDiscovered in 2005, Eris is 27% more massive than Pluto. Its discovery sparked the official IAU definition of a planet. Eris has an extremely reflective surface covered in methane ice and is orbited by moon Dysnomia.
Haumea
Spinning EllipsoidHaumea spins so rapidly (a day lasts under 4 hours) that centripetal force distorts it into an elongated triaxial ellipsoid. In 2017, astronomers discovered a ring system orbiting Haumea.
Makemake
Icy Easter WorldNamed after the Rapa Nui creator god, Makemake is the second brightest Kuiper Belt object after Pluto. It is covered in frozen methane and ethane snow and is orbited by a dark moon nicknamed MK2.