NASA’s New Horizons Finds Evidence of Recent Liquid on Pluto’s Surface
A new analysis of imagery collected during NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft’s 2015 encounter with Pluto provides evidence that liquid nitrogen is rising to Pluto’s surface through cracks in the northern edge of the Sputnik Planitia, part of the massive heart-shaped glacier on the dwarf planet’s surface. This is the first evidence of recently flowing liquid […] The post NASA’s New Horizons Finds…
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has detected evidence of liquid nitrogen recently flowing on Pluto’s surface, according to a fresh analysis of imagery from the 2015 mission. This marks the first detection of liquid on Pluto. The northern Sputnik Planitia, a glacier on Pluto resembling a heart-shaped glacier, is the focus of this discovery.
The dark, linear and diffuse features identified in the northern edge of the glacier suggest these areas have been temporarily wetted by liquid nitrogen. Alan Stern, principal investigator of New Horizons, highlights that Pluto continues to astonish scientists. The discovery of liquid nitrogen on Pluto also implies a novel type of variable feature on the dwarf planet.
The research team, comprising both Pluto experts and glaciology specialists, indicates that while liquid nitrogen rain on Pluto is improbable due to its atmospheric and thermal conditions, the liquid is most likely rising from beneath the glacier.
Written by urgent.news from NASA Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
