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Scientists from NASA's New Horizons team have created a 3D image of Ultima Thule by combining images of the object taken from different angles.
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Laurel Kornfeld
March 9, 2019
For this view, cross your eyes until the pair of images is confused. It can be helpful to place your finger or pen a few inches from your eyes and focus on it. When the background image is sharp, delete the closest object and focus on the image. Photo Credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute / National Observatory of Optical Astronomy
Scientists from NASA's New Horizons team have created the most detailed 3D image of Ultima Thule to date by combining images of the subject of the Kuiper Belt (KBO ) taken from different angles by the long range reconnaissance imager (LORRI).
The combination of high resolution images taken from different angles gives what is called "binocular effect", which allows to see a three-dimensional object.
This brief animation "sparkles" between the views of the New Horizons spacecraft on Ultima Thule, the 2019 New Year flyover target in the Kuiper Belt. Photo Credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute / National Observatory of Optical Astronomy
The processed images used to create the 3D view were captured by LORRI at a distance of 28,000 kilometers (17,400 miles), with a resolution of 130 meters (430 feet) per pixel at 00:01 am EST (05:01 GMT). January 1, 2019, and at a distance of 6,600 kilometers (4,100 miles), with a resolution of 33 meters (110 feet) per pixel, at 00:26 EST (05:26 GMT) that day.
Although the closest images have a higher resolution than the farthest images, their quality is lower because they were taken with much shorter exposure times. However, this does not diminish the quality of the combined 3D image, which, viewed with 3D glasses, provides the most accurate view possible of the actual surface and shape characteristics of the KBO.
"These views provide a clearer picture of the general shape of Ultima Thule, including the flattened shape of the large lobe, as well as the shape of individual topographic regions, such as the" neck "connecting the two lobes, the large lobe depression smaller. and hills and valleys on the largest lobe, "said Alan Stern, senior scientist at New Horizons, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado.
Ultima Thule is 4 billion kilometers from Earth. These detailed images will provide scientists with valuable insight into KBO for many years.
"We were looking forward to this high quality stereo view well before the flyover. We can now use this rich three-dimensional view to help us understand how Ultima Thule has taken its extraordinary form, "said John Spencer, Deputy Scientist for New Horizons, also of SwRI.
The return of all overflight data will take 20 months in total.
Tagged: LORRI New Horizons Ultima Thule Range
Laurel Kornfeld
Laurel Kornfeld is an amateur astronomer and freelance writer from Highland Park, New Jersey, who loves writing about astronomy and planetary science. She studied journalism at Douglass College at Rutgers University and earned a Graduate Certificate in Science from the Astronomy Online program at the University of Swinburne. His writings have been published online in The Atlantic, the Astronomy magazine's blog section, the British Space Conference, the 2009 IAU General Assembly Journal, The Space Reporter, and in the news bulletins of various clubs. astronomy. She is a member of Amateur Astronomers, Inc., based in Cranford, New Jersey. Specially interested in the external solar system, Laurel made a short presentation at the 2008 Global Debate held at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD.
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