Moons of Haumea

The two known natural satellites of the dwarf planet Haumea are Hiʻiaka and Namaka. Their orbits and physical properties help constrain Haumea’s mass, history, and unusual collisional system.

Hiʻiaka: Hiʻiaka is the larger and outer known moon of the dwarf planet Haumea. Its size and orbit distinguish it from Haumea’s smaller inner moon.
Orbital resonance: Orbital resonance occurs when orbiting bodies exert recurring gravitational influence at a ratio of orbital periods. The moons’ near-resonant orbital periods make their mutual gravitational perturbations significant.
Michael E. Brown: Michael E. Brown is an American astronomer known for discovering many distant Solar System bodies. Brown and his collaborators announced the discovery of Haumea’s two moons.
Kepler's third law: Kepler's third law relates an orbiting body's period to the size of its orbit and the system's total mass. Moon periods and orbital sizes help determine Haumea’s mass.
Haumea's rotation: Haumea rotates once in roughly four hours, giving it an unusually rapid spin for a dwarf planet. Its rapid rotation is a key clue in reconstructing the event that formed its moons.
Namaka: Namaka is the smaller, inner known moon of the dwarf planet Haumea. Its eccentric, inclined orbit makes it a distinctive member of the system.
Tidal locking: Tidal locking occurs when a body's rotation period matches its orbital period around another body. Tidal evolution can alter moon spins and orbits over the system’s lifetime.
S. A. Trujillo: S. A. Trujillo is an American astronomer whose work includes surveys of distant Solar System objects. Trujillo was part of the team that identified Hiʻiaka and Namaka.
Stellar occultation: A stellar occultation occurs when a Solar System body passes in front of a distant star. Occultations can constrain Haumea’s dimensions and improve interpretation of satellite orbits.
Collisional family: A collisional family is a group of small bodies believed to share fragments from a parent-body impact. The Haumea family’s relationship to the moons remains part of the system’s formation puzzle.

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