Makemake is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a disk of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the fourth largest trans-Neptunian object and the largest member of the classical Kuiper belt, having a diameter 60% that of Pluto. It was discovered on March 31, 2005 by American astronomers Michael E. ("Mike") Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David Rabinowitz at Palomar Observatory. As one of the largest objects found by this team, the discovery of Makemake contributed to the reclassification of Pluto as a dwarf planet in 2006.