Pluto is an icy world that was once considered the ninth planet of the solar system. It's so far away that ground-based telescopes can hardly reveal any surface images of the dwarf planet. Hence, Pluto remained a mystery for several decades after its discovery. In 2006, NASA launched the New Horizons probe to study Pluto, which was still considered the ninth planet. New Horizons reached Pluto after more than nine years and became the first spacecraft to fly by the far-flung world. It sent back stunning images of the dwarf planet that revealed striking details of its surface.
Although New Horizons has now crossed the mark of 50 AU from Earth, data from the space probe is still being analyzed after six years of the Pluto flyby. And now, research has shown that Pluto is not as calm as it seems. It is covered with ice volcanoes and the icy body might harbor liquid-water ocean underneath its surface.
In the fifth episode of the Sunday Discoveries Series, let's learn about the discovery of ice volcanoes on Pluto in detail.
REFERENCES:
Research Paper: https://go.nature.com/3LcdNih
New Horizons Mission: https://go.nasa.gov/37GQNcS
Cryovolcanoes: https://bit.ly/3Lceb0d
Enceladus: https://go.nasa.gov/3Lb8ZKb
Ocean Worlds: https://bit.ly/3OB1puz
Created By: Rishabh Nakra
Written By: Simran Buttar
Narrated By: Jeffrey Smith
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