Haumea (mythology) in the context of Nāmaka

Haumea (minor-planet designation: 136108 Haumea) is a dwarf planet located beyond Neptune's orbit. It was discovered in 2004 by a team headed by Mike Brown of Caltech at the Palomar Observatory, and formally announced in 2005 by a team headed by José Luis Ortiz Moreno at the Sierra Nevada Observatory in Spain, who had discovered it that year in precovery images taken by the team in 2003. From that announcement, it received the provisional designation 2003 EL₆₁.

On 17 September 2008, it was named after Haumea, the Hawaiian goddess of childbirth and fertility, under the expectation by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) that it would prove to be a dwarf planet. Nominal estimates make it the third-largest known trans-Neptunian object, after Eris and Pluto, and approximately the size of Uranus's moon Titania. Precovery images of Haumea have been identified back to 22 March 1955.

Hiʻiaka, formal designation (136108) Haumea I, is the larger, outer moon of the trans-Neptunian dwarf planet Haumea. Discovered by Michael E. Brown and the Keck Observatory adaptive optics team on 26 January 2005, it is named after Hiʻiaka, the patron goddess of the Big Island of Hawaii and one of the daughters of Haumea. The moon follows a slightly elliptical orbit around Haumea every 49.5 days, at a distance of 49,400 km (30,700 mi).

Hiʻiaka is an elongated and irregularly shaped body with a mean diameter of 369 km (229 mi), making it the sixth-largest known moon of a trans-Neptunian object. It has a very low bulk density between 0.46 g/cm and 0.69 g/cm, which indicates it is mostly made of loosely-packed water ice and rock. Telescope observations have shown that Hiʻiaka has a highly reflective surface made of crystalline water ice, much like Haumea itself. Hiʻiaka rotates about its axis every 9.68 hours, and appears to rotate sideways with respect to its orbit around Haumea. Like its smaller sibling moon Namaka, Hiʻiaka is believed to be a fragment of Haumea that was ejected in the aftermath of a giant impact 4.4 billion years ago.

Namaka (full designation (136108) Haumea II) is the smaller, inner moon of the trans-Neptunian dwarf planet Haumea. Discovered by Michael E. Brown and the Keck Observatory adaptive optics team in the fall of 2005, it is named after Nāmaka, a water spirit and one of the daughters of Haumea in Hawaiian mythology. Namaka follows a highly elliptical orbit that is highly tilted by roughly 13 degrees with respect to Haumea's equator. Namaka is heavily perturbed by both the gravitational influence of Haumea's larger, outer moon Hiʻiaka and the variable gravitational field of Haumea's elongated shape.

With a diameter of around 150 km (93 mi), Namaka is predicted to have an irregular shape and a chaotic rotation. It has a reflective surface made of fresh water ice, similar to that of Haumea and Hiʻiaka. Like Hiʻiaka, Namaka is believed to be a fragment of Haumea that was ejected in the aftermath of a giant impact 4.4 billion years ago.

In Hawaiian religion, Hiʻiaka is a daughter of Haumea and Kāne.

Hiʻiakaikapoliopele is the Hawaiian patron goddess of hula dancers, chant, sorcery, and medicine. Born in Tahiti and brought by her sister to Hawaii Pelehonuamea, Hi'iaka is also known as the goddess of hula. She played a significant role in the story of Lohi'au, where she embarked on a dangerous journey to bring him to Pele. Throughout her quest, Hi'iaka discovered her powers as a healer of land, making it fertile and causing growth. She also defeated many monsters and faced various challenges with the help of companions and gifts from Pele. In the end, after Pele destroyed Hi'iaka's sacred forest and lover, Lohi'au was given the choice of who to be with, resulting in different versions of the legend's conclusion. Hiʻiaka had multiple sisters, and together they represented various aspects of nature and life in Hawaii.