CFHT RINGS IN THE NEW YEAR WITH NASA FLYBY

On January 1, 2019, a new year began with a pivotal and universally-recognized NASA space expedition –– and Bennet Group’s client Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope (CFHT) was there for every minute of it. Shortly after midnight on New Year’s Eve NASA’s New Horizon’s spacecraft conducted a flyby of an object called Ultima Thule. Ultima Thule, the oldest observed object in history, is part of the Kuiper Belt, is the first close-up look at a solar system object of this type. It’s name, which translates to “beyond the known world,” is fitting for a object so primitive that looking at it is a glimpse into the earliest version of our solar system.

Technology generated by CFHT was used to create the map that discovered Ultima Thule and to create the star catalog that calibrated Hubble images of it, which has allowed for NASA’s New Horizon to correctly track and observe the object.

Bennet Group worked alongside the CFHT team on the ground at the flight station and NASA to share pictures, video and information from the New Year flyby. Local coverage is expected in Big Island Video News, Hawaiʻi News Now and Hawaiʻi Public Radio, among others.