— A NASA spacecraft 4 billion miles from Earth yielded its first close-up pictures Wednesday of the most distant celestial object ever explored, depicting what looks like a reddish snowman. It is a 1 billion miles (1.6 billion kilometres) beyond Pluto. On Tuesday, based on early, fuzzy images taken the day before, scientists said Ultima Thule resembled a bowling pin. About the size of a city, Ultima Thule has a mottled appearance the colour of dull brick, with brighter and darker regions. Clues about the surface composition of Ultima Thule should start rolling in by Thursday.

Source: National Post January 02, 2019 19:52 UTC