Arrokoth is a gently fused contact-binary Kuiper Belt object
On New Year’s Day 2019, New Horizons flew past Arrokoth (formerly Ultima Thule) and found two icy lobes stuck together like a snowman — a pristine contact binary from the Kuiper Belt.
The lobes appear to have merged slowly, preserving a lightly cratered surface that records the cold, gentle assembly of planetesimals. Its flattened shape and red organic coating preserve early outer-solar-system chemistry.
Some building blocks never smashed hard. Arrokoth is a time capsule of how worlds began sticking together.
Comments
0 comments