WASHINGTON: A batch of dome-shaped ice volcanoes that look unlike anything else known in our solar system and may still be active have been identified on Pluto using data from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, showing that this remote frigid world is more dynamic than previously known.
Scientists said these cryovolcanoes - numbering perhaps 10 or more - stand anywhere from six-tenths of a mile (1 km) to 4-1/2 miles (7 km) tall. Unlike Earth volcanoes that spew gases and molten rock, this dwarf planet's cryovolcanoes extrude large amounts of ice - apparently frozen water rather than some other frozen material - that may have the consistency of toothpaste, they said.
Features on the asteroid belt dwarf planet Ceres, Saturn's moons Enceladus and Titan, Jupiter's moon Europa and Neptune's moon Triton also have been pegged as cryovolcanoes. But those all differ from Pluto's, the researchers said, owing to different surface conditions such as temperature and atmospheric pressure, as well as different mixes of icy materials.
"Finding these features does indicate that Pluto is more active, or geologically alive, than we previously thought it would be," said planetary scientist Kelsi Singer of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Communications.
"The combination of these features being geologically recent, covering a vast area and most likely being made of water ice is surprising because it requires more internal heat than we thought Pluto would have at this stage of its history," Singer added.
Pluto, which is smaller than Earth's moon and has a diameter of about 1,400 miles (2,380 km), orbits about 3.6 billion miles (5.8 billion km) away from the sun, roughly 40 times farther than Earth's orbit. Its surface features plains, mountains, craters and valleys.
Images and data analyzed in the new study, obtained in 2015 by New Horizons, validated previous hypotheses about cryovolcanism on Pluto.
The study found not only extensive evidence for cryovolcanism but also that it has been long-lived, not a single episode, said Southwest Research Institute planetary scientist Alan Stern, the New Horizons principal investigator and study co-author.
"What's most fascinating about Pluto is that it's so complex - as complex as the Earth or Mars despite its smaller size and high distance from the sun," Stern said. "This was a real surprise from the New Horizons flyby, and the new result about cryovolcanism re-emphasizes this in a dramatic way."
The researchers analyzed an area southwest of Sputnik Planitia, Pluto's large heart-shaped basin filled with nitrogen ice. They found large domes 18-60 miles (30-100 km) across, sometimes combining to form more complexly shaped structures.
An elevation called Wright Mons, one of the tallest, may have formed from several volcanic domes merging, yielding a shape unlike any Earth volcanoes. Although shaped differently, it is similar in size to Hawaii's large volcano Mauna Loa.
Like Earth and our solar system's other planets, Pluto formed about 4.5 billion years ago. Based on an absence of impact craters that normally would accumulate over time, it appears its cryovolcanoes are relatively recent - formed in the past few hundred million years.
"That is young on a geologic timescale. Because there are almost no impact craters, it is possible these processes are ongoing even in the present day," Singer said.
Pluto has lots of active geology, including flowing nitrogen ice glaciers and a cycle in which nitrogen ice vaporizes during the day and condenses back to ice at night - a process constantly changing the planetary surface.
"Pluto is a geological wonderland," Singer said. "Many areas of Pluto are completely different from each other. If you just had a few pieces of a puzzle of Pluto you would have no idea what the other areas looked like."
Reuters
Thu Mar 31 2022
A perspective view of Pluto's icy volcanic region is seen based on 2015 data from the NASA spacecraft New Horizons. NASA/via REUTERS
Penghantaran pertama bantuan kemanusiaan AS tiba di Gaza
Presiden Amerika Syarikat (AS) Joe Biden pada Jumaat mengumumkan kejayaan penghantaran pertama bantuan ke Semenanjung Gaza melalui dermaga kemanusiaan multinasional.
Malaysia sertai Persidangan Antarabangsa Menteri-Menteri Kebudayaan di Turkmenistan
Malaysia merupakan antara negara yang menghadiri Persidangan Menteri-Menteri Kebudayaan Antarabangsa yang bermula semalam di Ashgabat, kata Duta Turkmenistan ke Malaysia M. Mashalov.
California terus berada di kedudukan teratas dalam kadar pengangguran di AS
California terus menerajui Amerika Syarikat (AS) dalam jumlah kehilangan pekerjaan sejak awal tahun ini.
KUSKOP seru setiap agensi perkasa operasi perbankan digital, khususnya AI
Semua agensi di bawah seliaan Kementerian Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi diseru memperkasa operasi perbankan digital masing-masing khususnya melibatkan bidang kecerdasan buatan (AI).
Cecah 43 celcius, elak dehidrasi, strok haba
Beberapa jemaah Malaysia bakal haji akui cuaca begitu panas di Mekah sekarang, tetapi mereka mengambil langkah waspada untuk tidak terdedah dengan cuaca di luar bagi mengelak dehidrasi dan strok haba sebagaimana disarankan Ketua Rombongan Haji 1445H/2024M, Datuk Seri Syed Saleh Syed Abdul Rahman.
Faisal Halim tunjukkan kesembuhan positif - Adam
Pemain sayap sensasi Harimau Malaya dan Selangor FC Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim atau lebih dikenali sebagai Faisal Halim, kini menunjukkan tanda-tanda kesembuhan yang positif.
Setiap hari terpaksa 'berperang' dengan ribuan lalat
Penduduk Flat Taman Sintar Indah, Nibong Tebal tidak mampu lagi bertahan dengan 'kehadiran' ribuan lalat setiap hari yang telah menganggu kehidupan seharian mereka.
PBT diingatkan guna peruntukan secara telus - KPKT
KPKT memberi peringatan kepada semua agensinya terutama pihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT) agar melaksanakan semua projek yang mendapat peruntukan kementerian secara telus dan mengikut piawaian ditetapkan.
Jenazah Allahyarham Konstable Muhammad Syafiq selamat dikebumikan
Jenazah korban serangan Balai Polis Ulu Tiram, Allahyarham Konstable Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad Said, selamat dikebumikan di tanah perkuburan Islam Batu 8, Jalan Gambang, Kuantan pada Sabtu jam 5.50 petang.
Cuepacs yakin semua penjawat awam sedia terima teguran
Presiden Cuepacs Datuk Adnan Mat berkata setiap pandangan terhadap penjawat awam bertujuan untuk memperbaiki atau menambah baik sesuatu perkara yang mungkin terdapat kelemahan.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
NASA bangunkan sistem rel terapung di permukaan bulan
FLOAT membabitkan pembangunan sistem rel terapung yang tidak memerlukan manusia untuk beroperasi menjelang 2030.
NASA berjaya hantar isyarat komunikasi laser sejauh 226 juta km
Kali ini data daripada kapal angkasa Psyche yang membawa DSOC bajua
Jutaan manusia kagum dengan fenomena gerhana matahari penuh
Fenomena gerhana matahari penuh tidak dapat disaksikan di Malaysia kerana laluan bayang-bayang umbra dan penumbra bulan tidak melalui mana-mana kawasan di Malaysia pada waktu tersebut.
'Selamat Datang ke Bulan' - Pendaratan kapal angkasa berjaya selepas 50 tahun
Robot pendarat berkaki enam digelar Odysseus, berjaya mendarat kira-kira jam 6:23 petang waktu AS di kawah bernama Malapert A.
NASA uji parabola hibrid terima isyarat komunikasi radio dan laser
NASA Menguji Parabola Hibrid Yang Menerima Isyarat Komunikasi Radio Dan Laser
Helikopter Ingenuity tidak lagi boleh terbang di Marikh
HAMPIR tiga tahun lalu helikopter Ingenuity menjadi objek pertama rekaan manusia yang berjaya terbang di planet selain bumi.
Jet ujian X-59 untuk program pesawat penumpang supersonik senyap didedahkan
Sasaran NASA dan Lockheed Martin ialah X-59 menghasilkan bunyi seperti pintu ditutup sahaja pada kelajuan supersonik.
Misi Artemis ke bulan ditangguh ke 2026
Terdapat banyak komponen yang perlu diuji seperti bateri dan litar yang mengawal sistem hayat penting seperti suhu dan kitaran udara.
Misi UAE ke bulan, Marikh bermula
Emiriah Arab Bersatu (UAE) telah mengumumkan penyertaannya dalam membangunkan modul di Stesen Lunar Gateway NASA Artemis bagi menjalankan misi kembali ke bulan dan Marikh.