Nasa reveals first close-up pictures of Ultima Thule
Distant space rock looks like a ‘large red snowman’
Nasa has released its first close-up images of Ultima Thule, a 21-mile-tall lump of space rock that lies four billion miles away on the edge of the solar system.
Taken by Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft, the pictures reveal an unusual shape that looks like a snowman - suggesting Ultima Thule was originally two separate rocks that collided and stuck together.
The New Horizons fly-by smashes records for the “most distant ever exploration of a Solar System object”, reports the BBC. The previous record was set in 2015 when New Horizons flew past Pluto, three billion miles away.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The newly released images are just the first of thousands of photos taken by the probe in a region of the solar system called the Kuiper Belt – a distant collection of debris and dwarf planets.
More data from New Horizons will continue to be beamed back to Earth over the course of the next 20 months, with true higher-resolution images expected to start arriving in February, says The Guardian.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Should Line of Duty return?
Talking Point Adrian Dunbar's hint about a series reboot has some critics worried
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
One great cookbook: 'The Zuni Café Cookbook' by Judy Rodgers
The Week Recommends A tome that teaches you to both recreate recipes and think like a cook
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Stephen Miller is '100% loyal' to Donald Trump
He is also the architect of Trump's mass-deportation plans
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
A giant meteor did double duty on Earth billions of years ago
Under the Radar Nutrients from the impact led to a "fertilizer bomb"
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
NASA's Europa Clipper blasts off, seeking an ocean
Speed Read The ship is headed toward Jupiter on a yearslong journey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bacteria is evolving to live (and infect) in space
Under the Radar The ISS has new micro-habitants
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Earth may be gaining a temporary moon
Under the radar A planetary plus-one
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Polaris Dawn sets records for private space flight
SpaceX has launched billionaire Jared Isaacman and his crew high above Earth to conduct the first private spacewalk
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing's Starliner to come home empty
Speed Read Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore will return on a SpaceX spacecraft in February
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
8 recent scientific breakthroughs
In Depth From animal communication to new cures for cancer
By Devika Rao, The Week US Last updated
-
Is billionaire's 'risky' space flight about research or tourism?
In the Spotlight Jared Isaacman takes an all-private crew to space
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published