The exact shape and composition won't be known until New Horizon starts sending back data in a process expected to last almost two years. It is thought to be potato-shaped and dark-colored with a touch of red, possibly from being zapped by cosmic rays for eons. Scientists suspect Ultima Thule is a single object no more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) long, though there's a chance it could prove to be two smaller bodies orbiting each other or connected by a slender neck. In classic and medieval literature, Thule was the most distant, northernmost place beyond the known world. As such, it is "probably the best time capsule we've ever had for understanding the birth of our solar system and the planets in it," Stern said. It was discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope and added to New Horizons' itinerary.ĭeep inside the so-called Kuiper Belt, a frigid expanse beyond Neptune that is also known as the Twilight Zone, Ultima Thule is believed to date back 4.5 billion years to the formation of our solar system. Ultima Thule was unknown until 2014, eight years after New Horizons departed Earth. (NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute via AP) The brightness of the stars was subtracted from the final image using a separate photo from September 2017, before the object itself could be detected. 16, 2018, made by the New Horizons spacecraft. This composite image made available by NASA shows the Kuiper Belt object nicknamed "Ultima Thule," indicated by the crosshairs at center, with stars surrounding it on Aug. "This is completely unknown territory."ĭespite the government shutdown, several NASA scientists and other employees showed up at Johns Hopkins as private citizens, unwilling to miss history in the making. "We will never forget this moment," said May who led the New Year's countdown. Queen guitarist Brian May, who also happens to be an astrophysicist, joined the team at Johns Hopkins for a midnight premiere of the rock 'n' roll song he wrote for the big event. There are no second chances for New Horizons." We are straining the capabilities of this spacecraft," Stern said at a news conference Monday. It's a tougher encounter than at Pluto because of the distance and the considerable unknowns, and because the spacecraft is older now. Traveling at 31,500 mph (50,700 kph), the spacecraft could easily be knocked out by a rice-size particle. Scientists believe there should be no rings or moons around Ultima Thule that might endanger New Horizons. Stern called it an auspicious beginning to 2019, which will mark the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's footsteps on the moon in July 1969. We're a billion miles farther than Pluto." Never before has a spacecraft explored anything so far away," said the project's lead scientist who led the countdown to the close encounter, Alan Stern of Southwest Research Institute. flags again 33 minutes later, the appointed time for New Horizons' closest approach to Ultima Thule.Ī few black-and-white pictures of Ultima Thule might be available following Tuesday's official confirmation, but the highly anticipated close-ups won't be ready until Wednesday or Thursday, in color, it is hoped. The crowd ushered in 2019 at midnight, then cheered, blew party horns and jubilantly waved small U.S. Instead, hundreds of team members and their guests gathered nearby on campus for back-to-back countdowns. With New Horizons on autopilot, Mission Control was empty at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. So they had to wait until late morning before learning whether the spacecraft survived. Scientists wanted New Horizons observing Ultima Thule during the encounter, not phoning home. The mysterious, ancient target nicknamed Ultima Thule is 4 billion miles (6.4 billion kilometers) from Earth. Confirmation was not expected for hours, though, given the vast distance. Flight controllers said everything looked good for New Horizons' flyby of the tiny, icy object at 12:33 a.m.
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