NASA finds water on the farthest object explored in our solar system

NASA has found evidence of a mixture of water ice, methanol, and organic molecules on the surface of Ultima Thule - the most distant object explored in our solar system. The space agency has published the first profile of the object revealing interesting details about Ultima Thule.

After analyzing the first set of data beamed back through the New Horizon spacecraft after its January 2019 flyby, the geology and composition of the object were understood. The astronomers are also investigating a range of surface feature on the object.

Research published in journal Science, the team found evidence for methanol, organic molecules, and water ice on the surface. This is something very different from other icy objects explored previously.

"We're looking into the well-preserved remnants of the ancient past," said Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado. "There is no doubt that the discoveries made about Ultima Thule are going to advance theories of solar system formation," Stern added.

Previously, NASA released the sharpest-ever image of Ultima Thule, which was taken on January 1. While the scientists already know details about the Ultima Thule, such as its two-part 'pancake' shape, these higher-quality images show the details that weren't visible till date. The new image shows circular pieces of terrain, deep pits and other details that were previously elusive.

When the image was first released, it soon became a Twitter sensation as users started posting a lot of jokes and memes on the image. The reactions also included many photoshopped images of the object. But now we have the images in high resolution, which might put the Twitter jokes to rest.