Based on these new occultation observations, team members say MU69 may not be not a lone spherical object, but…

Posted bychrisdolan 15 Comments on Based on these new occultation observations, team members say MU69 may not be not a lone spherical object, but…

Based on these new occultation observations, team members say MU69 may not be not a lone spherical object, but suspect it could be an “extreme prolate spheroid” – think of a skinny football – or even a binary pair. The odd shape has scientists thinking two bodies may be orbiting very close together or even touching – what’s known as a close or contact binary – or perhaps they’re observing a single body with a large chunk taken out of it. The size of MU69 or its components also can be determined from these data. It appears to be no more than 20 miles (30 kilometers) long, or, if a binary, each about 9-12 miles (15-20 kilometers) in diameter.

h/t John Nolan

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-horizons-next-target-just-got-a-lot-more-interesting

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