New Atlas

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Flatland: New images reveal Ultima Thule's shape is a "scientific puzzle"

Michael Irving February 10, 2019

Ultima Thule's shape has been described as a bowling pin, then a snowman. Now, new images snapped as the probe sped away from the object show that Ultima Thule is more like a flat “pancake” stuck to a “dented walnut,” leaving astronomers puzzled as to how such a shape is even possible.

A new view of Ultima Thule reveals that it's surprisingly flat

Space

Weird new landmarks on Ultima Thule come into focus with sharpest image yet

Michael Irving January 24, 2019

On January 1 the New Horizons probe whizzed past Ultima Thule, a tiny world on the fringe of the solar system. The latest image shows the object closer and in higher resolution than ever before. With that improved clarity comes some intriguing new landmarks on the rocky surface.

The latest image of Ultima Thule shows strange pockmarks and light patches

Space

Sharper New Horizons photos reveal Ultima Thule as a reddish space "snowman"

Michael Irving January 2, 2019

More images have returned from New Horizons, bringing Ultima Thule into sharper focus. Where yesterday’s images showed a few blurry pixels that looked like a bowling pin, the new photos reveal the rocky world to be more of a “snowman” shape, confirming it as a contact binary of two large spheres.

The original image of Ultima Thule (left) taken by New Horizons, along with a sharper, enhanced ...

Space Audio available

First images from Ultima Thule reveal bowling pin-shaped world spinning like a propeller

Michael Irving January 1, 2019

The New Horizons probe has successfully rendezvoused with Ultima Thule, a tiny world on the edge of the solar system. The first images have now arrived, revealing a bowling pin-shaped object that spins like a propeller.

An artist's impression of Ultima Thule, which will be seen in much more detail in the ...

Space Audio available

NASA's New Horizons probe seems to be approaching a surprisingly "dark" world

Michael Irving December 26, 2018

New Horizons is just days away from its historic flyby of Ultima Thule, a mysterious object on the fringe of the solar system. Ultima now seems to be an unexpectedly “dark” world, and while there are a number of possible explanations, none of them have any precedent in the solar system.

An artist's impression of Ultima Thule, which is already turning out to be quite mysterious before ...

Space Audio available

A billion miles beyond Pluto, New Horizons gets the all-clear to buzz Ultima Thule

Michael Irving December 19, 2018

The New Horizons spacecraft is just a few weeks out from a historic flyby of the Kuiper Belt object, 2014 MU69 (Ultima Thule). After weeks of scans for any potential hazards, NASA has now given the all-clear to buzz the object on an optimal path, which will bring it in closer for a much better look.

An artist's impression of Ultima Thule, which will be buzzed by New Horizons on its optimal ...

Space Audio available

Hubble spots "hot Neptune" exoplanet that's evaporating at a record rate

Michael Irving December 13, 2018

A type of world dubbed a "hot Neptune" has been conspicuously few and far between in terms of exoplanet discoveries, but a new observation may explain why. Hubble has now spotted a hot Neptune named GJ 3470b that’s vanishing at a record rate.

An illustration of GJ 3470b, shrouded in a cloud of gas as its atmosphere is stripped ...

Health & Wellbeing

Electronic skin lets any prosthesis feel touch and pain

James Holloway June 22, 2018

Researchers have developed an “e-dermis” or electronic skin that could be applied to a prosthetic hand to give the wearer a sense of touch. By using electronic sensors that mimic the nerve endings in the body, the skin can convey both the senses of touch and of pain.

The "e-dermis" applied to the thumb and forefinger of a prosthetic hand

Space

New Horizons emerges from hibernation ahead of historic rendezvous with Ultima Thule

Anthony Wood June 6, 2018

NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has successfully awoken from a planned 165-day hibernation period ahead of its historic flyby of the Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule, which is set to take place on New Year’s Day 2019.

Artist's impression of New Horizons approaching Ultima Thule

Science

Wireless device monitors the brains of bats in flight

Ben Coxworth April 11, 2018

Ordinarily, if you want to see what's going on in a bat's brain, you have to hold the animal immobile and wire it up – not the best setup for studying how it reacts while moving in the real world. Now, however, scientists have devised a method of recording the brain activity of free-flying bats.

The device is small and light enough that a bat can still fly while wearing it