A recent stellar occultation by dwarf planet Makemake provided an excellent opportunity to measure the size and shape of one of the largest objects in the Kuiper belt .
The analysis of these results provided what were reported to be precise measurements of the lengths of the projected axes , the albedo , and even the density of Makemake , but these results were , in part , derived from qualitative arguments .
We reanalyzed the occultation timing data using a quantitative statistical description , and , in general , find the previously reported results on the shape of Makemake to be unjustified .
In our solution , in which we use our inference from photometric data that Makemake is being viewed nearly pole-on , we find a 1 \sigma upper limit to the projected elongation of Makemake of 1.02 , with measured equatorial diameter of 1434 \pm 14 km and a projected polar diameter of 1422 \pm 14 km , yielding an albedo of 0.81 ^ { +0.01 } _ { -0.02 } .
If we remove the external constraint on the pole position of Makemake , we find instead a 1 \sigma upper limit to the elongation of 1.06 , with a measured equatorial diameter of 1434 ^ { +48 } _ { -18 } km and a projected polar diameter of 1420 ^ { +18 } _ { -24 } km , yielding an albedo of 0.81 ^ { +0.03 } _ { -0.05 } .
Critically , we find that the reported measurement of the density of Makemake was based on the misapplication of the volatile retention models .
A corrected analysis shows that the occultation measurements provide no meaningful constraint on the density of Makemake .