New Horizons' First Close-up Pictures of Ultima Thule Reveal a Binary World

By Jake Parks
Jan 2, 2019 7:10 PMMay 21, 2019 5:33 PM
Ultima Thule
Scientists say Ultima Thule is actually two objects stuck together. They've dubbed the big one "Ultima" and the small one "Thule." (Credit: NASA/JHUAPL)

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NASA’s New Horizons’ team released the first close-up images from Ultima Thule on Wednesday afternoon. Even at the speed of light, signals from the outer solar system take a long time to reach Earth. But the pictures were well worth waiting for. They reveal Ultima Thule is actually two objects stuck together. That’s prompted scientists to dub the big one “Ultima” and the small one “Thule.”

And while the first images may still be a bit disappointing, the best pictures will be arriving in the days and weeks ahead.

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