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Pluto Planetary Science is the Gift that Keeps on Giving

August 19, 2026
Pluto Planetary Science is the Gift that Keeps on Giving
By Carolyn Collins Petersen (https://ift.tt/mkbWMjY)

Pluto as seen by New Horizons during its 2015 flyby. Sputnik Planitia is a heart-shaped region that appears to be resurfaced by upwelling liquid nitrogen from below. That action creates what look like convection cells outlined by darker lines that could be flow channels. Credit: NASA/JHU/APL/New Horizons mission

Something's wetting the surface of dwarf planet Pluto along the northern edge of Sputnik Planitia, and planetary scientists have found a good explanation for it. A recent study of new Horizons images taken during the 2015 flyby revealed evidence that liquid nitrogen is rising up through cracks in Sputnik Planitia. That's the giant heart-shaped glacial basin we see in all the Pluto images taken by the spacecraft.



August 20, 2026 at 01:42AM
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