Ultima Thule Unveiled in Striking 3D

View with 3D Glasses: This image of Ultima Thule can be viewed with red-blue stereo glasses to reveal the Kuiper Belt object's three-dimensional shape.  Credits: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/National Optical Astronomy Observatory

Ken Kremer  --SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM –17 March 2019

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – The most distant object ever visited is now unveiled in striking 3D thanks to the New Horizons team plotting its unparalled path of exploration and discovery deep into the unknown regions of the Kuiper Belt and our Solar System.

So its time to whip out and wear your 3D red-cyan glasses and check out the lead image. 

The three dimensional image is another glorious gift from the history making New Year’s 2019 flyby of Ultima Thule by NASA’s New Horizons robotic emissary from Earth – taken as the probe sped by in the midnight hour and as it hurtles ever outward from our Home World and Sun. 

“NASA’s New Horizons team has created new stereo views of the Kuiper Belt object nicknamed Ultima Thule – the target of the New Horizons spacecraft’s historic New Year’s 2019 flyby, four billion miles from Earth – and the images are as cool and captivating as they are scientifically valuable,” NASA officials announced. 

Ultima Thule – which means ‘beyond the known world’ - ranks as the furthest and coldest object ever explored – a magnificently preserved bi-lobal fossil body formed during the birth of the solar system that looks remarkably like a ‘snowman’ although a flat one at that.

The 3D image was released by NASA and is the product of two separate images taken at different distances and angles in order to create the three dimensional image effect.

The sets of processed images were taken by the spacecraft’s Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) at 5:01 and 5:26 Universal Time on Jan. 1, 2019 from respective distances of 17,400 miles (28,000 kilometers) and 4,100 miles (6,600 kilometers) – “offering respective original scales of about 430 feet (130 meters) and 110 feet (33 meters) per pixel,” said NASA.

“These views provide a clearer picture of Ultima Thule’s overall shape,” said mission Principal Investigator Alan Stern, from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado, “including the flattened shape of the large lobe, as well as the shape of individual topographic features such as the "neck" connecting the two lobes, the large depression on the smaller lobe, and hills and valleys on the larger lobe,” in a statement. 

"We have been looking forward to this high-quality stereo view since long before the flyby,” added John Spencer, New Horizons deputy project scientist from SwRI. “Now we can use this rich, three-dimensional view to help us understand how Ultima Thule came to have its extraordinary shape," in a statement.   

Here are 2 alternates set of images to get the 3D effect without wearing 3D glasses.

Parallel: For this view, change your focus from the image by looking "through" it (and the screen) and into the distance. This will create the effect of a third image in the middle; try setting your focus on that third image.  Credits: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/National Optical Astronomy Observatory

Cross-Eyed: For this view, cross your eyes until the pair of images merges into one. It might help to place your finger or a pen just a couple of inches from your eyes, and focus on it. When the background image comes into focus, remove the closer object and concentrate on the image.  Credits: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/National Optical Astronomy Observatory

“Ultima Thule” is an unchanged fossil remnant and planetesimal formed during the dawn of our solar system some 4.5 Billion Years ago.

Planetesimals are the tiny building blocks from which much larger structures like moons and planets are born by accretion of hordes of bits of matter over time.

This image was taken by the Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) of Ultima Thule by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. It was taken at 5:01 Universal Time on January 1, 2019, just 30 minutes before closest approach from a range of 18,000 miles (28,000 kilometers), with an original scale of 459 feet (140 meters) per pixel. The science team unveiled this image at the Jan 2, media briefing at JHU APL. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

   

The bi-lobal rock is shaped remarkably like a ‘snowman’ and consists of two connected balls roughly spherical in appearance.

The new world measures 19 miles (31 kilometers) in length. The team has unofficially nicknamed the larger sphere "Ultima" (12 miles/19 kilometers across) and the smaller sphere "Thule" (9 miles/14 kilometers across).

Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com

Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics.

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Ken’s upcoming talks:

Apr 3: “Exploring Mars; The Search for Life & A Journey in 3-D.”  7 PM, Lawton C Johnson Middle School, Summit, NJ: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sef-grant-presents-exploring-mars-and-the-search-for-life-3d-registration-55524445110