NASA has just released the first photos of the greatest good that mankind has ever explored – and it looks like a red giant snowman

• Scientists claimed the probe of New Horizons flew past space rock called 2014 MU69 f & # 39; Day of the Year.

• MU69 (called Ultima Thule) is 4 billion miles from Earth and the most distant object ever explored by humanity.

• The NASA spacecraft recorded hundreds of photos of MU69, and researchers have revealed the first object images.

• The pictures show MU69 is & # 39; reddish color and shaped like a snowman.

• The acquisition of all the flyby data can & # 39; take about two years, but the resulting information can & # 39; shows how the planets formed in our solar system about 4.5 billion years ago.

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F & # 39; Day New Year, scientists claimed to New Horizons NASA powered nuclear energy underwent a mysterious object and & # 39; as a mountain.

The space rock is formally known as (486958) 2014 MU69, although more commonly as "Ultima Thule" (nickname brought some controversy – see note editor below). It is more than 4 billion miles from Earth and a billion miles beyond Pluto, and b & # 39; so the MU69 is the most item humanity ever more closely explored.

New Horizons recorded hundreds of photos in high-choreographed flyby b'32,200 miles per hour, and went about 2,200 miles the MU69. On Wednesday, researchers showed biddili first photographic cancellation of their unprecedented mission.

"It snowman," Alan Stern, who heads the mission & # 39; New Horizons, said about the form & # 39; item at a press conference on Wednesday.

Stern explained that MU69 seems to be what is technically called a contact binary, or "two completely separate items now joined together."

Jeff Moore, co-investigator of the mission & # 39; New Horizons, said during the provision of information to both lobes of & # 39; MU69 x & # 39; likely imdewwbu together with & # 39; so slow speed, the vehicle would crash, you do not even have to call your car insurance company.

Another NASA scientist named it as bilobata never traveled comet near the sun.

No one really knows the appearance & # 39; MU69 up this week. Fuzzy images captured before the flyby led some scientists to think it was extended object, shaped like bowling or peanut pen, or maybe two objects caught in & # 39; & # 39 with a tight orbit; other.

The first pictures of low resolution surrounded with World from New Horizons show MU69 is one object formed by two, and has reddish color. Scientists compared the color to that of the moon of Pluto to Charon.

"We can say that Ultima Thule is red," said Carly Howett, co-investigator of the New Horizons mission, during instruction.

Members of the New Horizons team is waiting to get the highest color photos in February, Stern earlier told Business Insider. He also said that the team begins to write his first scientific paper (based on the data already is) the next week.

"It will revolutionize our understanding of planetary science," said Stern about the flyby.

Mission & # 39; unprecedented bonus beyond Pluto

The mission to fly past MU69 was surprising as it was ambitious.

When NASA launched New Horizons at Pluto in 2006, nobody knew existed MU69. There was no reliable way to track the object until pplaggjaw astronauts camera up in the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009.

New Horizons obtained the first visit & # 39; Pluto in 2015. Once the probe is completed that the main mission in & # 39; in July 2019, is saqgħet away f & # 39; area called Kuiper Belt c. F & # 39; this cold region with ice, the sunlight is weak as the light from a full moon on Earth. That distant, frozen remnants of the formation of the solar system called Kuiper Belt Objects, or KBOs, hide in & # 39; large numbers. (Pluto is one of them.)

MU69 is one of the pristine remnants. Presumably remaining & # 39; in distant orbit and its icy billions of & # 39; years.

The MU69 is "the most primitive object yet seen any space craft," Moore said during the award & # 39; information Wednesday. He added that each of the two parts was formed within thousands or millions of years of formation of the solar system.

The unprecedented data obtained from New Horizons can therefore reveal new clues about how the solar system evolved to form planets like Earth.

"Ultima is the first thing kontna for that is large enough to have a machine like geological planet, and also something that has never been much heated by the sun," Stern said before Business Insider. "This is like a time capsule from 4.5 billion years ago. That's what makes it so special."

He compared the flyby with & # 39; archaeological dig in Egypt.

"It's like the first time someone opened the tomb of Fara and came inside, and you see how was the culture as 1,000 years ago," he said. "Unless it is exploring the beginning of the solar system."

another analogy: Stern said he thinks about the MU69 as "planetary embryos," since it is a key element of & # 39; larger planets never become one.

"F & # 39; this sense, is like paleontologu to find fossilized embryo of & # 39; dinosaur," said Stern. "Has a very special value."

The long wait for more data New Horizons

"What is hitting home with me is to build a spacecraft on Earth, and billions nibagħluha & # 39; & # 39 miles; away from Earth, and send back data by all this we achieve wonderful to look at and learn more about our world, our solar system, "said Alice Bowman, manager of New Horizons mission operations, during a press conference on Tuesday.

According to Stern, the first image & # 39; New Horizons captured during a flyby took two hours to transmit. Then every bit & # 39; data, moving at the speed of light as radio waves, took about six hours to reach the antennas on Earth.

Although the first images are now public, will take much longer to get the most detailed images and & # 39; complete resolution because of physical limitations of the New Horizons spacecraft and its location. Can & # 39; 20 a month to download all probe data.

Part of the reason it will take so much time is because the output of the radio antenna of the craft space is now about 15 watts – or a quarter of the power of the bulb standard light – and t

"10, 000 times harder to reach Pluto '

This flyby was dramatically more difficult than Pluto visit New Horizons, Stern said.

"Demolition & # 39; something equal to the size of & # 39; big mountain filthy covered with dirt, billion miles & # 39; away from Pluto, and to enter it is about 10,000 times more difficult to reach Pluto, "Stern said. "This is why about 10,000 times smaller. Achieving & # 39; and do is incredible."

The exact identification of where the MU69 is in space when New Horizons can fly beside requires "Odyssey and a half weeks' observations telescope worldwide, mission scientist Simon Porter said on Twitter.

To see the MU69 block the light from distant stars – way to confirm the precise orbit of the space rock – the researchers had to fly based telescope called SOFIA aircraft and t

New York Times published on the eve of the New Year, Stern described the meeting as "mind boggling minded."

"As celebrate the Day of the New Year, give your eyes & # 39; above and think for a moment about the amazing things that our country and our species can do when we nimmissjajna" Stern wrote.

Note to EditorAfter public campaign, the team & # 39; New Horizons chose Ultima Thule as a nickname (486 958) 2014 MU69. However, we mentioned the focus on here because the Nazi party used the word "Thule" principle of its ideology.

NOW THE FRAMEWORK: VIDEOS & # 39; information

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