Pluto, the not-quite-a-planet dwarf planet, has remodelled its surface with volcanoes. A team of scientists discovered evidence of recent ice volcanoes on Pluto, furthering our knowledge of the dwarf planet’s surface-sculpting processes.
During a 2015 visit, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft returned some stunning images of Pluto. The data from the satellite showed the presence of cryovolcanism (an icy version of our familiar hot Earth volcanism).
If verified, Wright Mons, a potential Mauna Loa-sized cryovolcano on Pluto, would be “the biggest such structure observed in the outer solar system,” according to NASA. A research released on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications reveals NASA’s assumption was correct. The study’s principal author is planetary scientist Kelsi Singer of the Southwest Research Institute.
Pluto’s ice volcanoes are remarkable, with some reaching heights of 4.3 miles (7 kilometres). They’re discovered in a location with few impact craters, implying that the volcanoes blasted forth slush that changed the dwarf planet’s surface very recently in its existence.
Ice volcanoes require a heat source to function. “The presence of these massive features suggests that Pluto’s interior structure and evolution allows for either enhanced heat retention or more heat overall than was anticipated prior to New Horizons, which allowed mobilisation of water-ice-rich materials late in Pluto’s history,” the researchers wrote.
The team provided a perspective depiction of the cryovolcanic zone, giving us a sense of what the area might look like if we sent a camera down to gain a bird’s eye view.