A new analysis of images taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft during its 2015 visit to Pluto has found evidence that liquid nitrogen is rising to the surface through cracks near the northern edge of Sputnik Planitia, reported NASA .
Recent evidence has emerged of liquid flowing on Pluto. New findings suggest that liquid nitrogen from beneath the icy surface can rise through cracks and reach Pluto’s surface. He explained that this discovery indicates the recent arrival of liquid on Pluto’s surface. It also points to the possibility of a new type of feature on the dwarf planet that changes over time. Researchers believe liquid nitrogen could be the cause. The study involved experts specialising in Pluto’s planetary science and the study of glaciers on Earth.
These dark patches may occasionally become wet, according to a study published on July 31 in the Planetary Science Journal.
Principal Investigator of the New Horizons mission and lead author of the study, Alan Stern, said Pluto continues to surprise us.
