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Discovered field of ice volcanoes on Pluto

New discovery of giant ice volcanoes reveals Pluto’s interior is much hotter than previously thought.

While ordinary volcanoes release molten lava, ice volcanoes spew a thick mixture of water, ice, ammonia and methane, collectively known as glacial magma. They are commonly found on icy bodies in the solar system.

By analyzing images taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, astronomers from the Southwest Colorado Research Institute (SWCRC) said on March 29 that they had discovered a bumpy field with volcanoes. relatively recently active giant ice on Pluto.





New field of ice volcanoes discovered on Pluto.  Photo: NASA/SWCRC

New field of ice volcanoes discovered on Pluto. Photo: NASA/SWCRC

“This region is unlike anything we’ve seen in the solar system,” said lead author Kelsi Singer. “It has a unique undulating topography with very large ice volcanoes. “It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the ice volcanoes were formed but we believe they may be only a few hundred million years old. age, or even younger”.

The field lies to the southwest of the Sputnik Planitia iceberg. It is filled with ice volcano domes, the largest of which are Piccard Mons and Wright Mons. Wright Mons is about 4-5 km high and extends 150 km, while Piccard Mons is up to 7 km high and 225 km wide. For comparison, Wright Mons is thought to have the same mass as the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii, the largest volcano on Earth.

Unlike much of Pluto’s surface, this region is completely cratered, so it’s likely that ice volcanoes have been active relatively recently, or are still in the process of forming.

Ice volcano expert Lynnae Quick at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center said the new discovery was “extremely important”.

“It shows that Pluto – which should have long since lost its internal heat – can hold enough energy to generate electricity for geological activity that took place quite late in history. This leaves us with an assessment. about the ability to maintain liquid water on tiny icy bodies far from the Sun,” Lynnae told AFP.

Pluto once had a liquid ocean below the surface, and the finding of these ice volcanoes suggests that the subsurface ocean may still exist with liquid water lying close to the surface. Combined with the hypothesis that Pluto has a warmer interior than previously thought, the discovery raises intriguing questions about the dwarf planet’s ability to support life.

“There are still a lot of challenges for any organism trying to survive on Pluto,” added Singer. “They still need some steady source of nutrients. If the ice volcano is active intermittently, the heat and water availability will change, which also sometimes makes it difficult for the organisms.”

Investigation of Pluto’s gravitational surface requires sending a more advanced orbiter to this distant world. The team hopes that in the future, they can use ice-penetrating radar to scan Pluto, allowing them to see what the ice volcano’s water system looks like.

Doan Duong (According to AFP/CNN)

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