Recently discoveries have been made that leads to very strong evidence of liquid water on Pluto. When NASA’s New Horizons mission was launched in 2006 to discover new parts of our solar system, it recently flew by Pluto in July last year, taking fascinating photos of the dwarf planet that have left scientists in awe. The most notable picture is one showing a huge white heart-shaped plain covering a large portion of the planet, roughly about 1,600 wide (1).

It is hard to believe, that on a planet with such hostile conditions, that there could somehow be water that isn’t frozen into rock solid ice. It has been found that fissures and fractures surrounding Tombaugh Regio, (the name of the heart-shaped area), that suggest there is a watery slush under the white plain (1). Another piece of evidence is that Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, perfectly aligns with this very specific part of the planet through gravity, and if there is water in the Tombaugh Regio, then it would explain a lot on why Charon is in some sort of synchronicity with it, because the chances of Charon being perfectly aligned with the Tombaugh Regio just by random occurrence is very rare (2). There is a theory strongly suggesting that there is water in the Tombaugh Regio, seeing that the gravitational anomaly, (something heavy), that can cause this alignment between Regio and the heart-shaped area is that there is a giant ocean swirling around (2).

Now Pluto is in the list of moons and other planets that share something in common, evidence of a giant ocean of water. This is only just the beginning, a brand new and recent discovery, and hopefully more will be made in the years to come.

Sources:

(1): https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pluto-s-icy-heart-may-hide-an-ocean/

(2): http://www.voanews.com/a/oceans-of-pluto/3598418.html

Picture: http://www.voanews.com/a/oceans-of-pluto/3598418.html