On January 1, New Horizons swooped to within 3,500 kilometers of the Kuiper
Belt world known as Ultima Thule. That’s about 3 times closer than its July
2015 closest approach to Pluto. The spacecraft’s unprecedented feat of
navigational precision, supported by data from ground and space-based observing
campaigns, was accomplished 6.6 billion kilometers (over 6 light-hours) from
planet Earth. Six and a half minutes before closest approach to Ultima Thule it
captured the nine frames used in this composite image.
The
most detailed picture possible of the farthest object ever explored,
the image has a resolution of about 33 meters per pixel, revealing intriguing
bright surface features and dark shadows near the terminator. A primitive Solar
System object, Ultima Thule’s two lobes combine to span just 30 kilometers. The
larger lobe, referred to as Ultima, is recently understood to be
flattened like a fluffy pancake, while the smaller, Thule, has a shape
that resembles a dented walnut.
Image & info via APOD
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins University APL, Southwest Research Institute, National Optical Astronomy Observatory
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