The Dwarf Planet Makemake as seen by X-Shooter

TL;DR

This paper presents a detailed visible to near-infrared spectrum of Makemake obtained with X-Shooter, analyzing methane ice features and comparing them with Eris to understand their similarities.

Contribution

First complete medium-resolution spectrum of Makemake's visible to near-infrared range, with analysis of methane ice absorption features and comparison to Eris.

Findings

Methane ice absorption bands show similar shifts in Makemake and Eris.

Spectrum analysis reveals detailed absorption features of Makemake.

Comparison suggests similar surface compositions of Makemake and Eris.

Abstract

Makemake is one of the brightest known trans-Neptunian objects, as such, it has been widely observed. Nevertheless, its visible to near-infrared spectrum has not been completely observed in medium resolving power, aimed at studying in detail the absorption features of CH$_4$ ice. In this paper we present the spectrum of Makemake observed with X-Shooter at the Very Large Telescope (Chile). We analyse the detected features, measuring their location and depth. Furthermore, we compare Makemake's spectrum with that of Eris, obtained with the same instrument and similar setup, to conclude that the bands of the CH$_4$ ice in both objects show similar shifts.