NASA's New Horizons finds no evidence of satellites orbiting Ultima Thule

          Source: Xinhua| 2019-01-04 16:47:32|Editor: xuxin
          Video PlayerClose

          LOS ANGELES, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Scientists from NASA's New Horizons mission said on Thursday that initial data collected by New Horizons spacecraft found no evidence of rings or satellites larger than one mile (1.6 km) in diameter orbiting Ultima Thule.

          New Horizons performed the farthest flyby in history on New Year's Day, as it approached the Kuiper Belt object nicknamed Ultima Thule within 2,200 miles (about 3,540 km) at a velocity of 31,500 miles (about 50,694 km) per hour.

          The spacecraft is yielding scientific discoveries daily. The team said data analysis has not yet found any evidence of an atmosphere.

          The color of Ultima Thule matches the color of similar worlds in the Kuiper Belt, as determined by telescopic measurements, according to data analysis.

          The two lobes of Ultima Thule - the first Kuiper Belt contact binary visited - are nearly identical in color, said the team.

          "The first exploration of a small Kuiper Belt object and the most distant exploration of any world in history is now history, but almost all of the data analysis lies in the future," said New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

          Data transmission from New Horizons will pause for about a week while the spacecraft passes behind the sun as seen from here on Earth, he said.

          Data transmission will resume on Jan. 10, starting a 20-month download of the spacecraft's remaining scientific treasures.

          "Those of us on the science team can't wait to begin to start digging into that treasure trove," Stern said.

          The mission team released the first detailed images of Ultima Thule on Wednesday, unveiling the very first stages of solar system's history.

          TOP STORIES
          EDITOR’S CHOICE
          MOST VIEWED
          EXPLORE XINHUANET
          010020070750000000000000011100001377197631
          无码人妻一区二区三区四区av_亚洲精品911在线永久观看_精品一区二区国产在线观看_日韩不卡一区二区视频在线

                  亚洲伦理AⅤ一区二区三区 在线观看免费h视频网站 | 亚洲日韩制服中文2021 | 色综合久久中文综合网 | 日本在亚洲A在线观看 | 久久9国产影视大全99久 | 精品久久免费观看 |