New Horizons Mission - Pluto + Charon Encounter

[Jim K Global Moderator]

29 minutes ago, DocM said:

 

By Rosetta's OSIRIS instrument team. 

 

https://arxiv.org/abs/1505.07021

 

 

It could be ... however, 67P has not been confirmed as a contact binary.  Even the source you pointed to states that "contact binary is suggested" and "we argue that..."  

 

Once again ... I'm just going by what NASA and Alan Stern have stated.  Instead of trying to correct me ... maybe you could bring it up to them. 

 

"What you’re seeing is the 1st contact binary ever explored by a spacecraft."  -- NASA

“What you’re seeing is the first contact binary ever explored by spacecraft: two completely separate objects that are now joined together.” - Alan Stern

 

Anyway, I do not think one can argue that Ultima Thule is a text book example of contact binary object.  

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Bits and bytes...

 

Quote

Mark Showalter: no moons found yet orbiting MU69, but still looking

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1080903041652531200

 

 

Quote

Silvia Protopapa: the two lobes of MU69, dubbed Ultima and Thule, have the same average color. Consistent with theory of formation process.

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1080906525697339397

 

 

Quote

Stern: New Horizons will go behind the sun today (from the Earth's perspective) causing a five day pause in the downlink. Starting on January 10th, a long 20 month period of downlinking will begin.

https://twitter.com/nextspaceflight/status/1080907561174425600

 

 

https://twitter.com/astromonocyte/status/1080905633329639425

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/astromonocyte/status/1080906114592657408

 

 

https://twitter.com/astromonocyte/status/1080907590647705600

 

 

https://twitter.com/astromonocyte/status/1080906987691483136

 

Starting January 10th, we have a 20 month download....kind of like netflix on a busy holiday night....

[Jim K Global Moderator]

Some what higher res of Ultima Thule: