New research reveals that Pluto, despite its status as a dwarf planet, harbors a massive ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust. This groundbreaking discovery, detailed in the journal Icarus, offers fresh insights into Pluto’s composition and potential for harboring life.
Research led by Washington University
The study was spearheaded by Alex Nguyen, a graduate student in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. Nguyen and his team utilized mathematical models and imagery from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft to explore Pluto’s hidden ocean.
Pluto’s harsh environment
Pluto’s five moons, including the largest, Charon, orbit this distant world, which endures surface temperatures of -220°C, freezing even gases like nitrogen and methane. Scientists previously assumed such extreme cold would prevent the existence of liquid water.
Despite Pluto’s frigid conditions, features like cryovolcanoes, which emit ice and water vapor, suggest a subsurface ocean. Prominent scientists, including William B. McKinnon of Washington University, now support the theory of a vast liquid ocean beneath Pluto’s icy shell.
Nguyen’s groundbreaking study
Nguyen’s research delved into the characteristics of Pluto’s hidden ocean by examining the Sputnik Planitia Basin, a massive depression formed by a meteor impact. Their models indicate that the ocean is shielded by a 40-to-80-kilometer-thick shell of water ice. Analysis of surface fractures provided estimates of the ocean’s density or salinity, revealing it to be about 8% denser than Earth’s seawater, similar to Utah’s Great Salt Lake.
Pluto’s Goldilocks zone
“We identified a sort of Goldilocks zone where the density and shell thickness are just right,” Nguyen explained. This discovery suggests that if humans could reach Pluto’s ocean, they would float effortlessly due to its unique composition.
Pluto’s hidden ocean not only reshapes our understanding of this distant world but also underscores the potential for life in the most unexpected places.
