Varuna

Varuna

Discovered recently in 2000, Varuna is a candidate dwarf planet that resides in the Kuiper Belt. Not much is known about the candidate, as only observations from ground-based telescopes have gathered light from the surface. Based on spectroscopic measurements of Varuna, the surface is expected to contain both water ice and methane ice, like the surface on Pluto. The candidate is a rapid rotator, like Haumea, and has an ellipsoid shape rather than a round shape typical for large objects. More information is expected to be gathered about Varuna in the future.