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NASA has released a stunning animation of Ultima Thule, the most distant object ever explored by humanity—located roughly four billion miles from Earth. The icy space rock, which resembles a tumbling reddish snowman, is officially known as 2014 MU69 and sits deep within the Kuiper Belt, far beyond Pluto.
This fascinating object, made up of two connected spheres, stretches about 21 miles (33 kilometers) in length. The animation shows Ultima Thule spinning slowly end-over-end, completing one full rotation every 16 hours. The footage was created from a series of high-resolution images captured by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft during its historic flyby on January 1. While the photos were taken over New Year’s, they were only recently transmitted back to Earth due to the vast distance involved.
A Snowman in Space
Ultima Thule’s odd snowman shape was formed by a gentle collision between two smaller bodies that gradually came together, sticking due to their mutual gravity. This slow merging process suggests a peaceful formation, rather than a violent crash, making Ultima a valuable snapshot of the early solar system’s building blocks.
No Moons, Rings, or Atmosphere (So Far)
Since the flyby, NASA scientists have been combing through the incoming data. While they’re still investigating, they’ve yet to find any signs of moons, rings, or even an atmosphere around Ultima Thule. This makes it a fairly solitary and silent world, drifting alone through the distant reaches of space.
A 3D Look at the Distant World
In a final press briefing on January 3, the New Horizons team revealed a special 3D image of Ultima Thule. Captured by the spacecraft’s Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager, this stereo view gives scientists and the public a more complete picture of the object’s three-dimensional shape—especially when viewed with 3D glasses.
New Horizons: Still Breaking Records
New Horizons, which famously flew past Pluto in 2015, continues to make history with its journey through the Kuiper Belt. Its close encounter with Ultima Thule marks the farthest flyby ever conducted by a spacecraft, offering an unprecedented glimpse into one of the solar system’s most ancient and untouched regions.
As more data returns from the spacecraft in the months to come, scientists hope to uncover even more secrets from this icy remnant of our solar system’s earliest days.
