The term dwarf planet is a new classification of astronomical bodies. A dwarf planet is a body that is within our solar system, but is too small or has to strange of an orbit to be classified as a regular planet. Pluto is now a dwarf planet, along with a handful of other objects in the Kuiper belt (the chain of "leftover" planet material at the edge of our solar system). Most dwarf planets are small, round and rocky, and some even have moons! Haumea (pronounced how-me-ah) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt with two peculiar properties:
1) It is believed to be egg shaped2) It's made of Crystalline water
The image above is an artists impression of what we think Haumea and its moons look like.
As you may have noticed, pretty much everything in the universe (except for galaxies) is shaped like a sphere. Why this planet is shaped like an egg, no one knows. It's also incredibly strange that it's made of crystalline water. It's too far away from the sun, and therefore not technically warm enough, to have water in crystal form on its surface. Astronomers have a few theories about how this could happen, but it's still in the investigation stage. It's funny, most people think that astronomers know everything there is know about the universe, especially our solar system. And yet there is still so much more to learn!
Image credit: NASA
