PC:
Nasa
Whe
Nasa’s
New
Ho izo s
spacec aft
left
Pluto
behi d,
its
jou ey
was
fa
f om
ove .
The
p obe
had
al eady
t avelled
fa the
tha
a y
spacec aft
se t
specifically
to
explo e
Pluto,
but
it
co ti ued
i to
the
da k
oute
eaches
of
the
sola
system.
O
1
Ja ua y
2019,
New
Ho izo s
passed
a
small
object
i
the
Kuipe
Belt
that
had
eve
bee
see
up
close
befo e.
The
object,
ow
called
A okoth,
was
oughly
fou
billio
miles
f om
the
Su
a d
appea ed
i
the
spacec aft’s
images
as
two
ou ded
lobes
joi ed
at
a
a ow
middle.
It
looked
simple
f om
a
dista ce.
Up
close,
howeve ,
its
shape,
su face
a d
chemist y
offe ed
scie tists
a
u usually
well-p ese ved
glimpse
of
the
mate ial
f om
which
the
ea ly
sola
system
was
assembled.
Why
Nasa
amed
the
Kuipe
Belt
object
A okoth
New
Ho izo s
lau ched
i
Ja ua y
2006
with
Pluto
as
its
mai
desti atio .
Afte
usi g
Jupite
fo
a
g avity
assist
i
2007,
the
spacec aft
co ti ued
towa ds
the
oute
sola
system
a d
eve tually
made
its
histo ic
Pluto
flyby
o
14
July
2015.
The
e cou te
t a sfo med
Pluto
f om
a
dista t
poi t
of
light
i to
a
wo ld
with
mou tai s,
plai s,
valleys
a d
a
atmosphe e.The
spacec aft
did
ot
stop
the e.
Beyo d
Neptu e
lies
the
Kuipe
Belt,
a
b oad
egio
populated
by
small
bodies
made
la gely
of
f oze
mate ial
left
ove
f om
the
sola
system’s
fo matio .
New
Ho izo s
was
di ected
towa ds
o e
of
these
objects
afte
its
Pluto
e cou te .
The
ta get
was
fi st
discove ed
i
2014
by
membe s
of
the
New
Ho izo s
team
usi g
the
Hubble
Space
Telescope
a d
was
i itially
desig ated
2014
MU69.Nasa
late
gave
it
the
ame
A okoth,
a
Powhata /Algo quia
wo d
mea i g
“sky”.
Acco di g
to
Nasa,
the
ame
was
chose
with
the
co se t
of
Powhata
t ibal
elde s
a d
ep ese tatives
a d
was
fo mally
submitted
to
the
I te atio al
Ast o omical
U io
a d
the
Mi o
Pla et
Ce t e.By
the
time
New
Ho izo s
app oached
A okoth,
scie tists
k ew
ve y
little
about
what
they
would
fi d.
Eve
f om
Ea th,
the
object
was
too
small
a d
dista t
fo
its
physical
fo m
to
be
clea ly
esolved.
The
spacec aft’s
e cou te
cha ged
that
withi
hou s.
Nasa
New
Ho izo s
eveals
A okoth’s
u usual
two-lobed
shape
The
fi st
detailed
images
evealed
somethi g
u like
the
usual
me tal
pictu e
of
a
small
aste oid.
A okoth
had
two
disti ct
lobes,
o e
la ge
tha
the
othe ,
co ected
by
a
compa atively
a ow
egio .
The
outli e
gave
it
the
appea a ce
of
two
s owballs
that
had
come
togethe
a d
emai ed
attached.
The
shape
was
ot
simply
a
u usual
featu e
of
its
su face.
It
ca ied
i fo matio
about
how
the
object
itself
fo med.Acco di g
to
Nasa,
the
two
lobes
we e
p obably
sepa ate
bodies
i
the
ea ly
sola
system
that
o bited
o e
a othe
befo e
eve tually
me gi g
at
a
ve y
low
speed.
The
collisio
was
ge tle
e ough
that
eithe
body
was
shatte ed.
I stead,
the
pai
came
togethe
a d
emai ed
as
a
si gle
object.
That
matte s
because
ma y
objects
i
the
sola
system
have
bee
alte ed
by
billio s
of
yea s
of
impacts,
heati g
a d
i te al
activity.
A okoth
appea s
to
have
expe ie ced
much
less
of
that
dis uptio .
Its
lobes
a e
ema kably
flatte ed,
thei
o ie tatio s
a e
closely
alig ed,
a d
the e
is
little
evide ce
of
the
ki d
of
viole t
collisio
that
would
have
d amatically
eshaped
them.
The
me ge
is
thought
to
have
happe ed
at
o ly
a
few
met es
pe
seco d,
o
possibly
less.
I
ast o omical
te ms,
that
is
a
u usually
ge tle
e cou te .The
implicatio
is
that
A okoth
may
p ese ve
a
physical
eco d
of
how
small
bodies
assembled
befo e
the
pla ets
themselves
eached
thei
p ese t
fo ms.
Nasa’s
New
Ho izo s
fi ds
A okoth
is
i te sely
ed
A okoth’s
locatio
helps
explai
why
scie tists
a e
i te ested
i
it.
The
object
o bits
i
the
Kuipe
Belt,
fa
beyo d
Neptu e,
whe e
tempe atu es
a e
ext emely
low,
a d
su light
is
weak.
Bodies
i
this
egio
have
ot
u de go e
the
same
deg ee
of
heati g
a d
geological
alte atio
expe ie ced
by
objects
close
to
the
Su .
New
Ho izo s’
obse vatio s
showed
that
A okoth
is
i te sely
ed.
The
smalle
lobe
is
somewhat
edde
tha
the
la ge
o e,
while
the
a ow
egio
betwee
them
has
diffe e t
the mal
p ope ties
f om
much
of
the
su ou di g
su face.
The
eddish
colou
could
be
associated
with
tholi s,
complex
o ga ic
substa ces
p oduced
whe
adiatio
acts
o
simple
compou ds
o
a
icy
su face.
Simila
eddish
mate ials
a e
k ow
elsewhe e
i
the
oute
sola
system,
i cludi g
o
Pluto
a d
Satu ‘s
moo
Tita .
The
exact
chemist y
at
A okoth
is
mo e
complicated,
but
the
colou
gives
scie tists
a othe
clue
about
what
has
happe ed
to
its
su face
ove
e o mous
st etches
of
time.The
spacec aft
also
fou d
a
wo ld
that
is
su p isi gly
smooth
i
places.
The e
a e
impact
c ate s,
i cludi g
a
much
la ge
featu e
i fo mally
called
Ma yla d,
but
b oad
a eas
of
the
su face
show
elatively
little
distu ba ce.
Its
tempe atu e
is
co espo di gly
ext eme.
Plotted
b ight ess
tempe atu es
i
some
egio s
a e
below
mi us
350
deg ees
Fah e heit.
The
a ow
eck
betwee
the
lobes
was
measu ed
as
elatively
wa me ,
by
as
much
as
seve al
deg ees.
The e
a e
o
obvious
i gs
su ou di g
A okoth,
a d
o
collectio
of
small
compa io
objects
was
fou d
o biti g
it
du i g
the
e cou te .
How
A okoth
fo med
mo e
tha
fou
billio
yea s
ago
The
sig ifica ce
of
A okoth
lies
less
i
its
size
tha
i
what
its
co ditio
may
eveal.
It
is
thought
to
have
fo med
mo e
tha
fou
billio
yea s
ago,
whe
the
sola
system
was
still
developi g
f om
a
otati g
cloud
of
gas
a d
dust
a ou d
the
you g
Su .
Ti y
pa ticles
g adually
accumulated
i to
la ge
co ce t atio s.
I
some
pa ts
of
the
ebula,
these
co ce t atio s
could
have
emai ed
elatively
local
athe
tha
bei g
epeatedly
mixed
th ough
viole t
collisio s.
A okoth’s
compositio
a d
st uctu e
a e
co siste t
with
that
quiete
ki d
of
assembly.The
u ifo mity
of
its
colou
a d
compositio
suppo ts
the
idea
that
the
mate ial
fo mi g
the
object
o igi ated
f om
a
elatively
small,
local
egio
of
the
sola
ebula.
Its
two
lobes
may
the efo e
ep ese t
mate ial
that
fo med
togethe
befo e
eve tually
joi i g.
This
makes
A okoth
diffe e t
f om
a
co ve tio al
pla eta y
body
whose
i te io
a d
su face
have
bee
exte sively
modified.
It
is
close
to
a
p ese ved
em a t
of
the
aw
mate ial
f om
which
la ge
sola -system
objects
developed.
Scie tists
have
also
ide tified
evide ce
fo
mate ials
such
as
metha ol
ice
a d
complex
o ga ic
compou ds.
Wate
ice,
commo
o
ma y
othe
icy
bodies,
was
ot
clea ly
detected
o
the
visible
su face.
Some
of
the
o ga ic
mate ial
may
have
existed
i
the
o igi al
sola
ebula,
while
othe
compou ds
could
have
fo med
late
as
adiatio
alte ed
metha e
a d
othe
substa ces
o
the
su face.The
disti ctio
is
impo ta t
because
seei g
a
o ga ic
molecule
o
a
a cie t
object
does
ot
by
itself
mea
that
life
was
p ese t.
These
compou ds
ca
be
p oduced
th ough
o -biological
chemical
p ocesses.
What
A okoth
offe s
i stead
is
a
cha ce
to
exami e
the
chemist y
of
p imitive
mate ial
that
has
spe t
most
of
its
existe ce
i
the
cold
oute
sola
system.
Nasa’s
New
Ho izo s
completes
the
A okoth
flyby
i
2019
The
A okoth
flyby
was
completed
o
New
Yea ‘s
Day
i
2019,
ea ly
th ee
a d
a
half
yea s
afte
New
Ho izo s
passed
Pluto.
At
that
poi t,
the
spacec aft
was
al eady
billio s
of
miles
f om
Ea th,
ope ati g
i
a
egio
whe e
eve
basic
obse vatio s
equi ed
ca eful
pla i g.
The
images
collected
du i g
the
e cou te
we e
late
combi ed
with
obse vatio s
take
f om
diffe e t
viewi g
a gles
to
eco st uct
A okoth’s
th ee-dime sio al
fo m.
That
wo k
helped
establish
that
its
u usual
flatte ed
shape
was
eal
a d
was
closely
co ected
to
its
fo matio
histo y.A okoth
is
the
most
dista t
a d
most
p imitive
object
eve
explo ed
by
a
spacec aft.
Its
o bit
takes
about
298
yea s
to
ci cle
the
Su ,
while
it
otates
oughly
o ce
eve y
16
hou s.The
spacec aft’s
jou ey
also
demo st ated
why
the
Pluto
missio
did
ot
have
to
be
the
e d
of
New
Ho izo s’
scie tific
useful ess.
Afte
c ossi g
Pluto’s
o bit,
the
p obe
co ti ued
i to
a
egio
co tai i g
ma y
em a ts
f om
the
sola
system’s
ea liest
pe iod.
A okoth
became
the
fi st
of
these
dista t
Kuipe
Belt
objects
to
be
exami ed
at
close
a ge.What
New
Ho izo s
saw
was
a
small,
cold
a d
la gely
u distu bed
body
whose
shape
still
eflects
the
ci cumsta ces
u de
which
it
fo med.
Rathe
tha
bei g
heavily
emodelled
by
geological
activity,
A okoth
appea s
to
have
spe t
billio s
of
yea s
p ese vi g
much
of
its
o igi al
cha acte .
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