This illustration provided by NASA shows the New Horizons spacecraft. The probe whipped past Pluto in 2015 and is headed to 2014 MU69 for an attempted 2019 flyby of the tiny, icy world on the edge of... (Associated Press) 
 
 This illustration provided by NASA shows the New Horizons spacecraft. The probe whipped past Pluto in 2015 and is headed to 2014 MU69 for an attempted 2019 flyby of the tiny, icy world on the edge of the solar system. (NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI via AP) (Associated Press) 
 
 This illustration provided by NASA shows the New Horizons spacecraft. The probe whipped past Pluto in 2015 and is headed to 2014 MU69 for an attempted 2019 flyby of the tiny, icy world on the edge of the solar system. (NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI via AP) (Associated Press) This illustration provided by NASA shows the New Horizons spacecraft. The probe whipped past Pluto in 2015 and is headed to 2014 MU69 for an attempted 2019 flyby of the tiny, icy world on the edge of... (Associated Press) 
 
 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Heads up, armchair travelers. 
 
 NASA is seeking a nickname for a tiny, icy world on the edge of the solar system that's the next destination for New Horizons, the spacecraft that surveyed Pluto. 
 
 New Horizons whipped past Pluto two years ago. Now it's headed for 2014 MU69 — gobbledygook to even the most die-hard scientists. 
 
 To lighten the mood as New Horizons aims for a 2019 flyby, the research team is holding a naming contest . The deadline is Dec. 1. 
 
 MU69 is 4 billion miles (6.5 billion kilometers) away and may actually be two objects, either stuck together or orbiting one another. If so, two nicknames would be needed. The nicknames will be temporary. NASA said Monday that a formal name will come after the flyby. ||||| Tuesday, March 13, 2018 
 
 Thule (here spelled "Tile") as it appeared on a 1539 map. Click on the map for a larger view. 
 
 Introducing "Ultima Thule": NASA's Ultima te Destination in the Kuiper Belt! 
 
 NASA and the New Horizons team are pleased to announce that our target body in the Kuiper Belt, formally known as "(486958) 2014 MU 69 ", is being nicknamed Ultima Thule . The name comes from medieval mapmakers, where Thule (pronounced "thoo-lee") was a distant and unknown island thought to be the northernmost place on Earth. "Ultima Thule" (which translates as "farthest Thule" or "beyond Thule") has come to be used as a metaphor for any mysterious place "beyond the borders of the known world". This is an apt metaphor for the tiny object, four billion miles away, that will be the next destination of the New Horizons spacecraft. 
 
 The name was nominated independently by about 40 participants in the Frontier Worlds campaign, and was ranked very highly in the voting. Ultima Thule will serve as the unofficial nickname for MU69 through the flyby on New Year's day, 2019. Later in 2019, we will work with the International Astronomical Union to establish a formal, permanent name for the body. 
 
 Thank you to everyone who participated in the naming campaign! Now join us on our ultimate journey. 
 
 –Mark Showalter and the New Horizons Science Team
– Heads up, armchair travelers. NASA is seeking a nickname for a tiny, icy world on the edge of the solar system that's the next destination for New Horizons, the spacecraft that surveyed Pluto. New Horizons whipped past Pluto two years ago, and now it's headed for 2014 MU69—gobbledygook to even the most die-hard scientists. To lighten the mood as New Horizons aims for a 2019 flyby, the research team is holding a naming contest, the AP reports. The deadline is Dec. 1 and a nickname will be chosen by early January. MU69 is 4 billion miles away and may actually be two objects, either stuck together or orbiting one another. If so, two nicknames would be needed. The nicknames will be temporary. "We would like to use a more memorable nickname when we talk about our target body," NASA explains on the contest page, where people can both suggest nicknames and vote on the winning name. "After the flyby, once we know a lot more about this frontier world, we will work with the International Astronomical Union to assign a formal name to MU69."