Astronomy Picture of the Day

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                               2019 February 28
                                      [2]
                            Sharpest Ultima Thule
Image Credit: NASA [3] , Johns Hopkins University APL [4] , Southwest Research
          Institute [5] , National Optical Astronomy Observatory [6]

Explanation: On January 1, New Horizons swooped to within 3,500 kilometers of
the Kuiper Belt world known as Ultima Thule [7] . 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 [8] 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 [9] like a fluffy pancake, while the smaller, Thule, has a shape
that resembles a dented walnut.

                      Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [21] (MTU [22] ) & Jerry Bonnell [23]
                                  (UMCP [24] )
          NASA Official:  Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [25] .
              NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices [26]
              A service of: ASD [27]  at NASA [28]  / GSFC [29]
                           & Michigan Tech. U. [30]
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1902/ultima-thule-1-ca06_022219.png
  [3] http://www.nasa.gov/
  [4] http://www.jhuapl.edu/
  [5] http://www.swri.edu/
  [6] http://www.noao.edu/
  [7] https://www.nasa.gov/feature/
new-horizons-spacecraft-returns-its-sharpest-views-of-ultima-thule
  [8] http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Galleries/Featured-Im...
image.php?gallery_id=2&image_id=596
  [9] ap190211.html
  [10] ap190227.html
  [11] archivepix.html
  [12] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [13] lib/aptree.html
  [14] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apo...
  [15] calendar/allyears.html
  [16] /apod.rss
  [17] lib/edlinks.html
  [18] lib/about_apod.html
  [19] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?dat...
  [20] ap190301.html
  [21] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [22] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [23] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnel...
  [24] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [25] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [26] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Priv...
  [27] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [28] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [29] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [30] http://www.mtu.edu/

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