W. M. Keck Observatory in the context of "Extrasolar planet"

An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside of the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and the first detection around a main-sequence star was in 1995. A different planet, first detected in 1988, was confirmed in 2003. In 2016, it was recognized that the first possible evidence of an exoplanet had been noted in 1917. As of 30 October 2025, there are 6,042 confirmed exoplanets in 4,501 planetary systems, with 1,020 systems having more than one planet.

There are many methods of detecting exoplanets. Transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy have found the most, but these methods suffer from a clear observational bias favoring the detection of planets near the star; thus, 85% of the exoplanets detected are inside the tidal locking zone. About 1 in 5 Sun-like stars are estimated to have an "Earth-sized" planet in the habitable zone. Assuming there are 200 billion stars in the Milky Way, it can be hypothesized that there are 11 billion potentially habitable Earth-sized planets in the Milky Way, rising to 40 billion if planets orbiting the numerous red dwarfs are included.

The dwarf planet Haumea has two known moons, Hiʻiaka and Namaka, named after Hawaiian goddesses. These small moons were discovered in 2005, from observations of Haumea made at the large telescopes of the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

Haumea's moons are unusual in a number of ways. They are thought to be part of its extended collisional family, which formed billions of years ago from icy debris after a large impact disrupted Haumea's ice mantle. Hiʻiaka, the larger, outermost moon, has large amounts of pure water ice on its surface, which is rare among Kuiper belt objects. Namaka, about one tenth the mass, has an orbit with surprising dynamics: it is unusually eccentric and appears to be greatly influenced by both the elongated shape of Haumea and by the larger satellite.

An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside of the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and the first detection around a main-sequence star was in 1995. A different planet, first detected in 1988, was confirmed in 2003. In 2016, it was recognized that the first possible evidence of an exoplanet had been noted in 1917. As of 4 December 2025, there are 6,053 confirmed exoplanets in 4,510 planetary systems, with 1,022 systems having more than one planet.

There are many methods of detecting exoplanets. Transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy have found the most, but these methods suffer from a clear observational bias favoring the detection of planets near the star; thus, 85% of the exoplanets detected are inside the tidal locking zone. About 1 in 5 Sun-like stars are estimated to have an "Earth-sized" planet in the habitable zone. Assuming there are 200 billion stars in the Milky Way, it can be hypothesized that there are 11 billion potentially habitable Earth-sized planets in the Milky Way, rising to 40 billion if planets orbiting the numerous red dwarfs are included.

Dysnomia, formal designation (136199) Eris I, is the only known moon of the dwarf planet Eris and is the second-largest known moon of a dwarf planet, after Pluto I Charon. It was discovered in September 2005 by Mike Brown and the Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics (LGSAO) team at the W. M. Keck Observatory. It carried the provisional designation of S/2005 (2003 UB₃₁₃) 1 until it was officially named Dysnomia (from the Ancient Greek word Δυσνομία (Dysnomía) meaning anarchy/lawlessness) in September 2006, after the daughter of the Greek goddess Eris.

With an estimated diameter of 615+60
−50 km, Dysnomia spans 24% to 29% of Eris's diameter. It is significantly less massive than Eris, with a density consistent with it being mainly composed of ice. In stark contrast to Eris's highly-reflective icy surface, Dysnomia has a very dark surface that reflects 5% of incoming visible light, resembling typical trans-Neptunian objects around Dysnomia's size. These physical properties indicate Dysnomia likely formed from a large impact on Eris, in a similar manner to other binary dwarf planet systems like Pluto and Orcus, and the Earth–Moon system.

The BTA-6 (Russian: Большой Телескоп Альт-азимутальный, romanized: Bolshoi Teleskop Alt-azimutalnyi, lit. 'Large Altazimuth Telescope') is a 6-metre (20 ft) aperture optical telescope at the Special Astrophysical Observatory located in the Zelenchuksky District of Karachay-Cherkessia on the north side of the Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia.

The BTA-6 achieved first light in late 1975, making it the largest telescope in the world until 1990, when it was surpassed by the partially constructed Keck 1. It pioneered the technique, now standard in large astronomical telescopes, of using an altazimuth mount with a computer-controlled derotator.

379 Huenna is a large asteroid located in the main asteroid belt. It was discovered by Auguste Charlois on 8 January 1984 at Nice Observatory, and was named after the island of Ven. Classified as a primitive B-type or C-type asteroid, it is a member of the Themis family. It is estimated to be roughly 87.5 kilometres (54.4 mi) in diameter, rotating once ever 14.14 hours.

Huenna has one known moon. The moon, which is currently unnamed, was discovered on 14 August 2003 by Jean-Luc Margot at Keck Observatory. It orbits Huenna on a wide and eccentric 80-day orbit, suggesting that it may be a captured object.