Scientists have discovered an icy volcano on Pluto. This discovery was an unexpected one.
How not, Pluto is a dwarf planet. It is far behind our solar system. Even Pluto is not included in the list of planets in the solar system.
But scientists found the fact that the possibility of an ice volcano on Pluto was astonishing.
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Scientists Discover Ice Volcano on Pluto
Pluto is a small planet behind Neptune. Because of its distance from the Sun, Pluto is an icy dwarf planet.
In 2006, scientists downgraded Pluto to a mini-planet when the International Astronomical Union created a new definition for a planet.
The average temperature of Pluto is negative 232 degrees Celsius with blue skies and red snow.
According to CNET, the American Space Agency’s (NASA) New Horizons mission sent back some views of Pluit during a flyby in 2015.
The spacecraft data shows the existence of cryovolcanism or contains ice from Earth’s volcanism.
NASA has observed the cryovolcano and says it is the largest feature they have ever found in the outer solar system if confirmed. This cryovolcano the size of Mauna Loa on Pluto they dubbed Wright Mons.
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Very Impressive Volcano
A study published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday (29/03/202) says that the ice volcanoes on Pluto are impressive.
“We discovered a large glacial volcanic field unlike anything we have ever seen in the solar system,” wrote study author Kelsi Singer.
The volcano is in the Sputnik Plantia ice sheet covering the ancient impact for 1,000 kilometers. Most of the mountain is made of undulating ice filled with volcanic domes.
The two largest mountains are Wright Mons which is about 4-5 kilometers high and stretches for 150 kilometers. While the other is Piccard Mons with a height of 7 kilometers and a width of 225 kilometers.
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How Mountains Formed?
The process of formation of ice volcanoes elsewhere in the solar system occurs due to the movement of material from the bottom to the top of the surface. In this case, the water quickly becomes ice once it reaches the cold temperature of Pluto’s surface.
“These icebergs are very different from the others, they are mountains but there is no caldera at the top,” Singer said.
Pluto does have a rocky core and scientists have long suspected there would be a lot of interior warming to spur volcanism.
Furthermore, the research team did not find any impact craters around the surface indicating a recently active ice volcano. They also found that Pluto had more residual heat than previously thought.
The possible active time of an ice volcano on Pluto dates back to 100 million to 200 million years ago and formed in some time. (R10/HR-Online)
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