- New Horizons images reveal liquid nitrogen rising through cracks on Pluto's Sputnik Planitia
- Liquid nitrogen flows on Pluto's surface suggest active geological processes beneath the ice
- Sputnik Planitia is a vast frozen nitrogen glacier larger than Texas and Oklahoma combined
A new analysis of images taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft during its 2015 visit to Pluto has found evidence that liquid nitrogen is rising to the surface through cracks near the northern edge of Sputnik Planitia, reported NASA.
Recent evidence has emerged of liquid flowing on Pluto. New findings suggest that liquid nitrogen from beneath the icy surface can rise through cracks and reach Pluto's surface.
Principal Investigator of the New Horizons mission and lead author of the study, Alan Stern, said Pluto continues to surprise us.
He explained that this discovery indicates the recent arrival of liquid on Pluto's surface. It also points to the possibility of a new type of feature on the dwarf planet that changes over time.
Sputnik Planitia is a vast frozen nitrogen glacier on Pluto. Its surface area exceeds the combined size of the U.S. states of Texas and Oklahoma.
In 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft captured images of the northern section of Sputnik Planitia. These images revealed city-sized geological convection cells, interspersed with thin, dark lines and broader dark patches. These features suggested that liquid had previously flowed there.
According to a study published on July 31 in the Planetary Science Journal, these dark patches may occasionally become wet. Researchers believe liquid nitrogen could be the cause.
The study involved experts specialising in Pluto's planetary science and the study of glaciers on Earth.
The surface patterns in the northern part of Sputnik Planitia appear dark. They resemble features found on Earth's glaciers that become wet due to rainfall or liquids rising from beneath the surface.
However, Pluto's atmospheric and temperature conditions make liquid nitrogen rain impossible. This suggests that the liquid nitrogen may be rising from beneath the glacier to the surface. A new discovery strengthens the possibility that liquid nitrogen can sometimes rise to the surface through cracks in Pluto's icy crust.
