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NASA released the first batch of New Horizons Kuiper Belt object sightings on January 1, 2019. Only about 10% of the data from this overview was transmitted to Earth-based researchers. but the results were disclosed in a study published on May 17. According to the space agency, the object – nicknamed Ultima Thule – is "much more complex than expected".
The Kuiper Belt object is officially named 2014 MU69, but is more often called Ultima Thule. The object has an unusual shape resulting from the "soft fusion" of two previously independent bodies that attach to a junction point. NASA calls "the neck". The object is located about four billion kilometers from the Earth and holds the distinction of being the farthest object. humans have already explored.
NASA paints a striking profile of Ultima Thule, explaining that the object measures approximately 22 km long with a binary contact scheme, two very different lobe shapes and a general appearance that – though still mysterious – probably points to the cause of formation billions of years since. NASA calls this strange form an "unforeseen mystery" that could one day be elucidated by additional data.
The two space objects were likely locked, slowing down over a long time before finally joining in the Ultima Thule we see today. Alan Stern, Principal Investigator for New Horizons, explained, "We are looking at the well-preserved remains of the ancient past."
The study highlights the unique characteristics of the object, including the presence of a large depression about 5 miles wide, "hills and valleys" and smaller pits that may have formed under the 39; effect of sublimation or another type of material change. As shown in the picture above, Ultima Thule has a distinct reddish color, with NASA claiming that it is the most red object ever visited by humans in the external solar system.
That's just the beginning of what we know about this Kuiper Belt object. NASA explains that data from the New Horizons flyby will continue to spread over the next few months until the summer of 2020. To date, the New Horizons spacecraft is located at approximately 4.1 billion kilometers from Earth, and sinks deeper into the Kuiper Belt at around 33,000 mph. .
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