If the signs of Pluto’s subterranean ocean give some scientists hope for life, the subterranean ocean of its moon Charon is a paradoxical hell.
To find out, scientists at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) studied a rich and surprising data set from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. the nature of the celestial body Charon mysterious, what was once thought to be a simple ball of ice cream.
In 2015, Charon’s interesting geological features shocked the scientific community when New Horizons, the Pluto research vessel, visited.
According to the sheet Space, What is most shocking is Evidence of an underground oceansomething astronomers always look for in celestial bodies in the hope of life.
Charon seen from Pluto
Charon seen from Pluto – (Graphic image from NASA/BBC)
But unlike the underground ocean that may contain liquid water beneath Pluto’s heart-shaped plain, which some scientists have studied and believe to be an extreme life form, Charon’s underground ocean appears to have destructive power terrifying on the celestial bodies.
If volcanoes on Earth spew terrifying molten rock, then Charon’s icy ocean can rise to the surface through the “ice volcano”by eruptions similar to terrestrial volcanoes, but projecting icy material.
Additionally, evidence shows that this ocean was initially in a liquid state, then gradually froze as the Moon’s outer shell took shape. The ice has a greater volume than the water that makes it up, so it’s this ocean that explains why Charon’s surface has cracks – in other words, “ice hell” It literally shattered the entire Moon.
Ocean-broken canyons on Charon’s surface extend along the global tectonic belt, separating the Moon’s northern and southern geological regions.
The above properties also help predict a series of geological activities related to the evolution of this mysterious Moon, as well as add a picture of a type of fate of celestial bodies with subterranean oceans.
Research on Charon also provides additional data on Pluto itself, a celestial body still tinged with mystery and even its status is unclear: the International Astronomical Union (IAU) says it is only ‘a dwarf planet, even though NASA insisted on it. “excess of standards” be a planet.
New work on Charon has just been published in a scientific journal Icarus.
Article source: NLD
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If signs of Pluto’s subterranean ocean have led some scientists to hope for life, then the subterranean ocean of its moon Charon…
