Pluto may be hiding an ocean under that icy exterior
Tech Culture
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Transcript
[MUSIC]
[SOUND] Forget water on Mars.
Pluto is the latest planet making waves in our solar system.
New data from the New Horizons mission suggests that the former ninth planet, now demoted to dwarf planet, may be hiding an entire ocean under that icy surface.
The first images from the mission earlier this year seem to hint at the possibility, but now the evidence is mounting.
A team of researchers at Brown University noticed mountains of ice and fault lines spanning hundreds of kilometers on Pluto's surface.
That indicate that the planet may have been growing over time due to this underground ocean.
As the water underground freezes it increases in volume forcing the surface to expand and crack over time.
So how does the water remain liquid when it's so far from the sun?
According to the study, the natural decay of radioactive elements in Pluto's core may be to blame.
Over the last two decades we've discovered that Earth isn't the only celestial body with an ocean to boast.
One of Saturn's moons and two of Jupiter's have bodies of water under their surfaces.
But if a planet as far away from the Sun as Pluto can support water, it opens up the possibility for discovering more water and maybe even other forms of life in the universe.
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