Arrokoth Kuiper Belt Object - 3D Model

New Horizons team member Marc Buie first spotted Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU₆₉ in June 2014, while he and other team members were using the Hubble Space Telescope to identify potential targets for the New Horizons spacecraft after its Pluto flyby in July 2015.

Arrokoth is the most distant object ever explored by a spacecraft. During its flyby, New Horizons revealed its strange shape, a double-lobed object called a contact binary. On first approach, it looked similar to a snowman, but the team later deduced Arrokoth actually looks more like a pancake stuck to a walnut. Arrokoth is also very red, which astronomers believe is caused by interactions over billions of years between ultraviolet light and carbon-rich material on the object’s surface.

Includes:

• Informative flyer with facts about the asteroid's discovery and features
• Clear acrylic riser for desk display

Size 5.8 cm x 3.245 cm x 1.6623 cm

Astronomy magazine exclusive