During the 47th Annual Meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, NASA revealed new evidences from the New Horizons Pluto flyby showing the existence of ice volcanoes on the surface of the dwarf planet.
Scientific discoveries by the NASA spacecraft New Horizons flyby in Pluto continue to debunk old theories and beliefs about the dwarf planet with high resolution images of the geological structure and atmospheric condition of Pluto.
"The New Horizons mission has taken what we thought we knew about Pluto and turned it upside down," in a statement said Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "It's why we explore-to satisfy our innate curiosity and answer deeper questions about how we got here and what lies beyond the next horizon."
One of the key findings highlighted during the 47th Annual Meeting for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society is the recent evidence of cryovolcanoes or ice volcanoes in the surface of Pluto. The New Horizons team of geologists was able to produce 3D maps indicating two of Pluto's most distinctive mountains, measuring approximately ten miles across and several more miles in altitude. The geologists believe that these mountains are ice volcanoes, named Wright Mons and Piccard Mons.
"These are big mountains with large hole in their summit, and on Earth that generally means one thing-a volcano," New Horizons postdoctoral researcher at NASA's Ames Research Center Oliver White said in a statement (via Fox News).
"If they are volcanic, then the summit depression would likely have formed via collapse as material is erupted from underneath," he added.
According to Gizmag, cryovolcanoes or ice volcanoes, unlike the volcanoes on Earth which erupt with molten rocks and ash, would eject vast quantities of a "slurry-like cocktail" of water ice, nitrogen, ammonia and methane.
If Wright Mons and Piccard Mons are proven to be ice volcanoes, the discovery will be key to understanding the evolution of Pluto's geological structure.
