01-08-2019, 07:41 PM
"Great stuff, but actually New Horizons already passed by Ultima Thule a week ago. Still waiting for the pictures to get back here."
Just be clear, high-resolution images of Ultima Thule have already been sent back:
https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/new-ho...ima-thule/
There's a call to rename the object as "Snowman" which I'll support. There will be more images to come. As HOTPE notes, the existence of the formerly theoretical Kuiper Belt was confirmed by the astronomers using Mauna Kea telescopes. It's wonderful that we get a close-up on an object in that region. Others, such as myself, will argue we got the first close-up of a Kuiper Belt object when New Horizons passed by Pluto. In any case, this is a great example of how ground-based observations on Mauna Kea get supported by space-based missions. If built here, the TMT will be doing the same with various space telescopes and probes in the future.
Just be clear, high-resolution images of Ultima Thule have already been sent back:
https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/new-ho...ima-thule/
There's a call to rename the object as "Snowman" which I'll support. There will be more images to come. As HOTPE notes, the existence of the formerly theoretical Kuiper Belt was confirmed by the astronomers using Mauna Kea telescopes. It's wonderful that we get a close-up on an object in that region. Others, such as myself, will argue we got the first close-up of a Kuiper Belt object when New Horizons passed by Pluto. In any case, this is a great example of how ground-based observations on Mauna Kea get supported by space-based missions. If built here, the TMT will be doing the same with various space telescopes and probes in the future.