Science. It works, bitches.
When the NASA's New Horizons spacecraft buzzed by Pluto last year, it revealed tantalizing clues that the dwarf planet might have -- or had at one time -- a liquid ocean sloshing around under its icy crust. According to a new analysis such an ocean likely still exists today.
The study, which used a thermal evolution model for Pluto updated with data from New Horizons, found that if Pluto's ocean had frozen into oblivion millions or billions of years ago, it would have caused the entire planet to shrink. But there are no signs of a global contraction to be found on Pluto's surface. On the contrary, New Horizons showed signs that Pluto has been expanding.
"Thanks to the incredible data returned by New Horizons, we were able to observe tectonic features on Pluto's surface, update our thermal evolution model with new data and infer that Pluto most likely has a subsurface ocean today," said Noah Hammond, a Ph.d candidate in Brown University's Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, and the study's lead author.
...
"What New Horizons showed was that there are extensional tectonic features, which indicate that Pluto underwent a period of global expansion," Hammond said. "A subsurface ocean that was slowly freezing over would cause this kind of expansion."
Scientists think that there may have been enough heat-producing radioactive elements within Pluto's rocky core to melt part of the planet's ice shell. Over time in the frigid Kuiper belt, that melted portion would eventually start to refreeze. Ice is less dense than water, so when it freezes, it expands. If Pluto had on ocean that was frozen or in the process of freezing, extensional tectonics on the surface would result, and that's what New Horizons saw.
Полностью: www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2016/06/plutos-va...
Если вкратце и по-русски, то, судя по состоянию поверхности Плутона, под ней скрывается жидкий океан. Но я, конечно, рекомендую прочесть полностью.
Очень круто, что так далеко от Солнца что-то может быть в жидком состоянии. Это, кстати, позволяет предположить, что там есть какая-то жизнь (если лёд водный) и что подобное может наблюдаться на каких-то других экзопланетах.
The study, which used a thermal evolution model for Pluto updated with data from New Horizons, found that if Pluto's ocean had frozen into oblivion millions or billions of years ago, it would have caused the entire planet to shrink. But there are no signs of a global contraction to be found on Pluto's surface. On the contrary, New Horizons showed signs that Pluto has been expanding.
"Thanks to the incredible data returned by New Horizons, we were able to observe tectonic features on Pluto's surface, update our thermal evolution model with new data and infer that Pluto most likely has a subsurface ocean today," said Noah Hammond, a Ph.d candidate in Brown University's Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, and the study's lead author.
...
"What New Horizons showed was that there are extensional tectonic features, which indicate that Pluto underwent a period of global expansion," Hammond said. "A subsurface ocean that was slowly freezing over would cause this kind of expansion."
Scientists think that there may have been enough heat-producing radioactive elements within Pluto's rocky core to melt part of the planet's ice shell. Over time in the frigid Kuiper belt, that melted portion would eventually start to refreeze. Ice is less dense than water, so when it freezes, it expands. If Pluto had on ocean that was frozen or in the process of freezing, extensional tectonics on the surface would result, and that's what New Horizons saw.
Полностью: www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2016/06/plutos-va...
Если вкратце и по-русски, то, судя по состоянию поверхности Плутона, под ней скрывается жидкий океан. Но я, конечно, рекомендую прочесть полностью.
Очень круто, что так далеко от Солнца что-то может быть в жидком состоянии. Это, кстати, позволяет предположить, что там есть какая-то жизнь (если лёд водный) и что подобное может наблюдаться на каких-то других экзопланетах.