NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a small, dark moon orbiting Makemake, the second brightest icy dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt.
The moon — provisionally designated S/2015 (136472) 1 and nicknamed MK 2 — is more than 1,300 times fainter than Makemake. MK 2 was seen about 20,921 km from the dwarf planet, and its diameter is estimated to be 160 km across. Makemake is 1,400 km wide.
The dwarf planet, discovered in 2005, is named for a creation deity of the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island.
The Kuiper Belt is a vast reservoir of leftover frozen material from the construction of solar system 4.5 billion years ago and home to several dwarf planets.