{"id":12157,"date":"2022-05-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-03T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/?post_type=purple_issue&#038;p=12157"},"modified":"2022-05-11T11:07:50","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T09:07:50","slug":"giant-ice-volcanoes-may-have-sculpted-plutos-mysterious-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/2022\/05\/04\/giant-ice-volcanoes-may-have-sculpted-plutos-mysterious-landscape\/","title":{"rendered":"Giant ice volcanoes may have sculpted Pluto\u2019s mysterious landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center intro\"><strong>Cryovolcanic activity was ongoing beneath the dwarf planet\u2019s surface in the recent geological past, data from NASA\u2019s New Horizons mission suggests<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<div class=\"no-tts wp-block-image article-in-image photo\"><figure class=\"no-tts aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\" height=\"948\" src=\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/05\/Sputnik_Planitia-55601.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"no-tts wp-image-12377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/05\/Sputnik_Planitia-55601.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/05\/Sputnik_Planitia-55601-300x284.jpg 300w, https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2022\/05\/Sputnik_Planitia-55601-768x728.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption>The blue regions illustrate icy volcanic action on Pluto. The ring to the left is a growing volcanic dome, while the areas to the right show general flows of material to the surface<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">A series of peaks, domes and troughs found on Pluto\u2019s undulating surface may have been created by icy material being pushed up to the surface by cryovolcanic activity, analysis of data collected by NASA\u2019s New Horizons mission has found.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">The so-called hummocky terrain runs across Sputnik Planitia, an area found southwest of Pluto\u2019s icy heart, and consists of a network of icy formations ranging from one to seven kilometres tall and 30 to 100 kilometres across.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">\u201cThe particular structures we studied are unique to Pluto, at least so far,\u201d said lead author Dr Kelsi Singer, New Horizons deputy project scientist from the Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado. \u201cRather than erosion or other geologic processes, cryovolcanic activity appears to have extruded large amounts of material onto Pluto\u2019s exterior and resurfaced an entire region of the hemisphere [that] New Horizons saw up close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">The researchers believe this region of Pluto is relatively young, geologically speaking, as there are few craters \u2013 meaning it hasn\u2019t had much time to have been hit by asteroids. Because of this, and the fact that the formations contain large amounts of material, the researchers say it is possible that Pluto\u2019s interior structure retained heat into the relatively recent past, enabling materials rich in water ice to be deposited onto the surface.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">The structures could\u2019ve been created by water rising up from beneath the surface and being rapidly frozen by the dwarf planet\u2019s extremely low temperatures and atmospheric pressures, the researchers say.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">This could\u2019ve occurred if the material had a toothpaste-like consistency, or flowed in a similar way to how solid ice glaciers flow on Earth, or consisted of a frozen shell covering material that was still able to flow underneath.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"article-full-body sans-serif\">\u201cOne of the benefits of exploring new places in the Solar System is that we find things we weren\u2019t expecting,\u201d said Singer. \u201cThese giant, strangelooking cryovolcanoes observed by New Horizons are a great example of how we are expanding our knowledge of volcanic processes and geological activity on icy worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"footer\">IMAGE: NASA\/JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY\/SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cryovolcanic activity was ongoing beneath the dwarf planet\u2019s surface in the recent geological past, data from NASA\u2019s New Horizons mission 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activity was ongoing beneath the dwarf planet\u2019s surface in the recent geological past, data from NASA\u2019s New Horizons mission 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