Dwarf planet Haumea shines with crystalline ice
Thursday, May 12, 2011 - 10:01
in Astronomy & Space
The fifth dwarf planet of the Solar System, Haumea, and at least one of its two satellites, are covered in crystalline water-ice due to the tidal forces between them and the heat of radiogenic elements. This is the finding of an international research study using observations from the VLT telescope at the European Southern Observatory in Chile.