Haumea (?)
Posted by BC on September 20th, 2008
Haumea is the name of another dwarf planet in our Solar System. The name comes from the Hawaiian goddess of fertility. Haumea is a Kuiper Belt object, formerly referred to as 2003 EL61 and Minor Planet 136108.
The IAU officially name Haumea on September 17, along with its two moons, Hiiaka and Namaka. Haumea is the fifth dwarf planet discovered to orbit our Sun.
A controversy exists, however, about naming rights for this particular object. Two different groups claim discovery, but the IAU places rights of discovery with the one who reports it first. There is more to come on the disagreement.
