Talk:486958 Arrokoth

Which name is which lobe

I'm finding it hard to keep track of which lobe is Wenu and which is Weeyo. But it might help that Sky crater is on Weeyo (both have a Y at/near the end) and Kaʼan Arcus (the 'road to nowhere') is on Wenu (both have an N at/near the end). — kwami (talk) 15:53, 20 July 2022 (UTC)

@Kwamikagami: I like to think the smaller lobe Weeyo as "wheel," considering that the Sky impact likely detached the lobes and left Weeyo rolling in orbit as it re-merged with Wenu. But that's just my way of quirky thinking, so do what suits you. Nrco0e (talk · contribs) 16:14, 20 July 2022 (UTC)

To me, Wenu looks like a wheel, so I don't think that would work for me. I suspect most people are just going to call them the large and small lobes, though. — kwami (talk) 16:31, 20 July 2022 (UTC)

Mention of racism

Why was the information about Ultima Thule being used by Nazis removed? ✶Quxyz✶ 06:24, 1 January 2024 (UTC)

Looking at the removal of the mention, it appears like Newsweek is not a good enough source to determine whether the "change" of name was influenced by any links to far-right terminology at all. "Ultima Thule" was never its official name. The cited phys.org article for the paragraph makes it clear that the team is aware that there was a controversy, though NASA "did not comment on whether the Nazi controversy played a role in it being discarded." in response to a query from AFP.

Wording this in a way that hedges the mention of the alleged controversy (with a citation to a reliable source, not newsweek) in order to ensure it's not falsely portrayed as the definitive reason for the final name being different from the informal nickname would seem like a good change. Sprintente (talk) 05:28, 3 December 2024 (UTC)

True color image of Arrokoth

In the wake of the changes made to Neptune's images to bring it closer to true color, I would like to bring up that I am fairly certain that the images of Arrokoth on its page are also inaccurate and heavily saturated. Tholins, although often termed as appearing "red" by astronomers, almost never appear truly red in the colloquial sense on astronomical bodies -- this extends from Pluto and Charon to Europa's linea, which all appear muddy brown. Therefore, it should stand to reason that Arrokoth's true color would likewise also be similar; it may be best to find a more accurate color image of Arrokoth. ArkHyena (talk) 00:55, 9 January 2024 (UTC)