Don't miss out this new picture of 'space snowman' Ultima Thule' taken by NASA

Washington, Jan 28: Many observers were startled when the NASA's New Horizons spacecraft beamed back the clearest view yet of the most distant object ever explored - the Kuiper Belt object (KBO) 2014 MU69 nicknamed Ultima Thule.

"The new image, taken during the historic flyby is the clearest view yet of this remarkable, ancient object in the far reaches of the solar system - and the first small 'KBO' ever explored by a spacecraft," NASA said in a statement.

The new image, released on 25 January, is the first to be presented by NASA since 5 January, after which press operations were shuttered due to the US government's 35-day partial shutdown.

The image, obtained with the wide-angle Multicolour Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) component of New Horizons' Ralph instrument, was taken when the KBO was 6,700 km from the spacecraft, at 12.26 am on January 1 - just seven minutes before closest approach.

On January 1, the spacecraft zipped past the ancient Ultima Thule, setting the record for flyby of the most distant planetary object in history.

Meanwhile, NASA is reopening - at least until 15 February, when the present injection of funding runs out and America may run into another partial government shutdown. But Spencer and other scientists from grant-funded organisations like SwRI aren't quite as dependent on the vagaries of US politics as NASA itself.