The latest picture of Ultima Thule reveals a remarkably smooth face
The object’s lack of craters suggests the Kuiper Belt isn’t filled with lots of space hazards
Ultima Thule has a new mug shot.
The closest-yet image of the ancient Kuiper Belt object, captured as the New Horizons spacecraft flew by January 1, shows a relatively smooth face unmarred by impact craters.
“The thing is just not covered in craters,” says planetary scientist Kelsi Singer of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., of the image, released January 24.
That lack of impact scars suggests that the Kuiper Belt, a reservoir of ancient space rocks beyond the orbit of Neptune, has fewer small objects than scientists expected. If true, that could mean that the precursors to planets grew up fast, without leaving many protoplanetary crumbs behind.