Discover volcanoes erupting ice on Pluto

NASA research shows that Pluto may exist giant volcanoes that can spray ice instead of lava as usual.

Detecting "cold volcano" on Pluto

According to a recent image from NASA's New Horizons vessel, the southern pole of Pluto - Pluto may exist giant volcanoes. But not only that, these volcanoes could be "cold volcanoes" - cryovolcano - spewing ice, instead of lava and dust as usual.

The moment Pluto's first images were published, many believed that the planet was an icy and cold world (because it was the planet away from the Sun). But gradually, we are getting to know more about this planet.

Pluto's first photo was published a few months ago.

According to the latest photo, at the South Pole of Pluto, there are two giant volcanoes, named Wrights Mons and Piccard Mons, that may be having internal geological activities. It is estimated that 2 mountains spread 160km, of which Piccard Mons is 6000m high and Wrights Mons is 3500m.

Wright crater is 3,500m high.

These mountains are quite similar to volcanoes at other globes. However, experts say these mountains when erupted will release a mixture of ice, ammonia and methane gas, instead of lava and ash. And if this information is true, this will be the most important finding brought by the New Horizon ship, since we have never observed this phenomenon at the edge of the Solar System.

Although NASA has yet to officially recognize these as "cold volcanoes , " but according to Oliver White, NASA's New Horizon project doctor: "As a volcanic researcher, I don't think. there is something wrong here ".

Alan Stern - project supervisor also added: "Similar geological structures are also found on Mars, but the planets between them are not available. This is really surprising."

Besides finding volcanoes, NASA was also surprised when Pluto had a long history of geological activity. Pluto has up to 1,000 volcanoes on the surface, and some point out that the first geological activities of the planet have been around since it was first formed - about 4 billion years ago.

Pluto's rather long history of geological activity.

And what formed these activities? Experts believe that Pluto has a heat source inside the core - the other from the process of forming the planet from 4.5 billion years ago. The heat source is enough to keep the ice flowing inside the planet, but with such a layer of ice on the surface, heat is not enough to make lava.

According to Dr. Kelsi Singer from the Southwest Research Institute of Colorado (USA): "Pluto is giving us a better understanding of the process of formation of planets in the solar system".