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from the this-is-about-the-80's-band-right? dept.
A giant asteroid impact in the dwarf planet's past offers new insights into the possibility of an ocean beneath its surface.
Ever since NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto last year, evidence has been mounting that the dwarf planet may have a liquid ocean beneath its icy shell. Now, by modeling the impact dynamics that created a massive crater on Pluto's surface, a team of researchers has made a new estimate of how thick that liquid layer might be.
The study, led by Brown University geologist Brandon Johnson and published in Geophysical Research Letters, finds a high likelihood that there's more than 100 kilometers of liquid water beneath Pluto's surface. The research also offers a clue about the composition of that ocean, suggesting that it likely has a salt content similar to that of the Dead Sea.
Europa, Mars, Enceladus, Titan, and now...Pluto? Scientists who search for extra-terrestrial life focus on the presence of liquid water (or hydrocarbons, in the case of Titan), so the list of potential sites in the solar system is growing.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday September 26 2016, @08:45PM
> Scientists who search for extra-terrestrial life focus on the presence of liquid water
I'm pretty sure that there are lots of lifeforms out in the universe who either have no clue about that weird H2O thing, or might even be harmed by it.
There couldn't possibly be life at the bottom of the ocean, because there's no light nor air...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @06:31AM
There is water at the bottom of the ocean.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 27 2016, @09:36AM
"Water running under. Under rocks and stones. Water running under." Talking Heads? "Once in a Lifetime"? Is this my beautiful house?