NASA’s New Horizons took this image of Ultima Thule on Jan. 1, 2019, from a distance of 5,494 miles (8,862 kilometers). At left: An “average” of 10 photos taken by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI); the crescent is blurred because a relatively long exposure time was used during this rapid scan to boost the camera’s signal level. At right: A sharper processed version of image, which removes the motion blur.
The old (top) and new (bottom) shape-model views of the distant object Ultima Thule, which NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew by on Jan. 1, 2019. Mission team members initially thought Ultima Thule resembles a snowman but now believe the object to be flattened. The dashed blue lines represent uncertainty, indicating that Ultima Thule could be either flatter than, or not as flat as, depicted in this figure.
Michael has been writing for Space.com since 2010. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.