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A Kuiper Belt Pair? Artist’s Concept of 2014 MU69 as a Binary Object
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Caption:
This is one artist's concept of Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69, the next flyby target for NASA's New Horizons mission. This binary concept is based on telescope observations made at Patagonia, Argentina, on July 17, 2017, when MU69 passed in front of a star. New Horizons scientists theorize that it could be a single body with a large chunk taken out of it (see PIA21868 ), or two bodies that are close together or even touching.
Background Info:
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, designed, built, and operates the New Horizons spacecraft, and manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The Southwest Research Institute, based in San Antonio, leads the science team, payload operations and encounter science planning. New Horizons is part of the New Frontiers Program managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Cataloging Keywords:
| Name | Value | Additional Values |
|---|---|---|
| Target | 486958 Arrokoth | |
| System | Kuiper Belt | |
| Target Type | KBO | |
| Mission | New Horizons | |
| Instrument Host | New Horizons | |
| Host Type | Flyby Spacecraft | |
| Instrument | ||
| Detector | ||
| Extra Keywords | Artwork, Color | |
| Acquisition Date | ||
| Release Date | 2017-08-04 | |
| Date in Caption | 2017-07-17 | |
| Image Credit | NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker | |
| Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21867 | |
| Identifier | PIA21867 | |
