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On January 1, 2019 the New Horizons spacecraft had the first ever
close flyby encounter with a small cold classical KBO, 2014 MU69 (aka
Ultima Thule). After a trip of 4 billion miles, New Horizons flew
within 3600 km of the surface of this bilobate object, observing it
with VISNIR imaging cameras, UV and NIR spectrometers, low and high
energy ion detectors, and the Student Dust Counter
experiment. Geomorphological and rotational characterizations of
Ultima Thule were performed, as well as searches for moons, rings,
coma, and outgassing activity. The resulting treasure trove of data
will take 20 months to download, but tantalizing results have already
been returned.
In this talk we will present the first preliminary results from the NH Ultima Thule flyby, and discuss their implications for the nature of the body and the mechanisms that formed it in the heart of the Kuiper belt. |