Q 01/05

Where in the Solar System is the dwarf planet Haumea?

A) Between Saturn and Uranus

B) In the asteroid belt

C) In the Oort cloud

D) Beyond Neptune, in the Kuiper belt

Answer · why

D) Beyond Neptune, in the Kuiper belt

It is the third-largest known trans-Neptunian object after Eris and Pluto, about the size of Uranus's moon Titania.

Q 02/05

Haumea is named after a goddess from the mythology of which Pacific islands?

A) Hawaii

B) Tahiti

C) Tonga

D) Samoa

Answer · why

A) Hawaii

The Caltech team chose the names to honour Mauna Kea, where the moons were found.

Q 03/05

The goddess Haumea presides over what?

A) Volcanoes and lava

B) The sea and its storms

C) War and conquest

D) Childbirth and fertility

Answer · why

D) Childbirth and fertility

Her many children were said to spring from different parts of her body, an apt image for a body that shed a family of fragments.

Q 04/05

What is Haumea's most unusual physical feature?

A) A striking deep blue colour

B) An elongated, egg-like ellipsoid shape

C) A thick nitrogen atmosphere

D) A partly molten rocky surface

Answer · why

B) An elongated, egg-like ellipsoid shape

Its long axis is roughly twice its short one, thanks to a spin of under four hours.

Q 05/05

How long does Haumea take to rotate once?

A) About 6.4 days

B) About 10 hours

C) About 24 hours

D) About 3.9 hours

Answer · why

D) About 3.9 hours

Faster than any other known body in equilibrium; a little quicker and it would split into a dumbbell.

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