UPDATE:2014 MU69 is now officially namedArrokoth
NASA ’s New Horizons has successfully completedits flyby of Ultima Thule , a supernal aim 6.6 billion kilometers ( 4.11 billion knot ) from Earth , the furthermost world ever explored . The squad has begun to download the datum from this incredible feat and in the meantime , they have released the latest analysis and epitome collected by the probe just before the flyby .
Ultima Thule is definitely a peanut vine - shaped earth 15 by 35 kilometers ( 9 by 22 miles ) , it appear to be a single object but it could be potential for it to be two orbiting really close to each other . With the current information , researchers ca n’t corroborate its exact parameter such as its rotational period , but they are trying to bosom as much science as they can from this fuzzy image .
“ Ca n’t tell the difference now between a 15 - hour or 30 - minute stop . Tomorrow , though , Ultima Thuile will be turned into a real creation , ” Hal Weaver , Project Scientist on the New Horizons Mission from John Hopkins Applied Physical Laboratory , said in thepost - flyby pressure conference .
The team is expecting the first in high spirits - resolution image to be receive through NASA Deep Space internet to add up through in the next few 60 minutes . Over the next few days , Ultima Thule will go from a pixelated and exceedingly peanut - y spot to a detailed object , floating far beyond the ambit of the Solar System ’s known planets .
" New Horizons performed as plan today , conduct the utmost exploration of any creation in chronicle — 4 billion miles from the Sun , " Principal Investigator Alan Stern , of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder , Colorado , said in astatement . “The data we have look rattling and we ’re already learn about Ultima from up near . From here out the data point will just get better and better ! "
The next press league with more data from Ultima Thule is scheduled for January 2 , at 2 pm EST where the first post - flyby results will be presented . The full information solidification will take 20 months to download . The flyby might be over but the geographic expedition of Ultima Thule has just begin .
