--- title: "New HD Photo of Ultima Thule Looks Like a Giant Beat Up BB-8" description: "Johns Hopkins University and NASA released the most high-resolution image of Ultima Thule yet, in all its dented and scarred glory." date: "2019-01-26" modified: "2019-01-26" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/high-resolution-image-ultima-thule" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "johns hopkins" - "NASA" - "new horizons" - "ultima thule" --- # New HD Photo of Ultima Thule Looks Like a Giant Beat Up BB-8 ![Johns Hopkins University and NASA released the most high-resolution image of Ultima Thule yet, in all its dented and scarred glory.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## A Very Distant Flyby NASA's New Horizons spacecraft [recently broke the record]() for the most distant flyby of any space body on January 2. It got a brief glimpse of a curiously shaped space rock called Ultima Thule (or MU69), some 4 billion miles away. The first images we got to see of the ["snowman"-shaped]() Kuiper Belt object were [pretty pixellated]() and didn't show an awful lot of detail. But as the data is trickling in from the New Horizons spacecraft — data transfer from such an immense distance takes its time — we're getting a better and better view of Ultima Thule each week. https://twitter.com/JHUAPL/status/1088544283202863105 ## High-Res Image And yesterday, we got our best look yet: a stunning, high-resolution image of the tiny space rock, showing all of its 23 mile (37 km) across body in all its dented and scarred glory — at close to the original resolution of 440 feet (135 meters) per pixel. The image was taken during the January 1 flyby, and was sent off back to Earth on January 18 and 19. Only now has all the data reached Earth. ## Uncovering the Secrets Most critically, the photo might help us uncover even more mysteries about the object. Thanks to the lighting of its surface, the image reveals "numerous small pits up to about 0.4 miles (0.7 kilometers) in diameter," according to an [official update]() from Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory. Different intriguing light patterns might also give us insight as to how Ultima Thule was formed some 4.5 billion years ago. "This new image is starting to reveal differences in the geologic character of the two lobes of Ultima Thule, and is presenting us with new mysteries as well," said Principal Investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado in the update. "Over the next month there will be better color and better resolution images that we hope will help unravel the many mysteries of Ultima Thule." **READ MORE:** New Horizons Transmits Incredibly Clear Picture of MU69 \[*Gizmodo*\] ***More on Ultima Thule: [Here’s NASA’s Newly-Released Image of Ultima Thule]()*** ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()