The spacecraft “New horizons” away from Pluto already at 300 million kilometers, but the probe continues to send back new and very interesting information about this dwarf planet. New data indicate that the Pluton was once able to flow the river and there was a lake of liquid nitrogen.
Scientists report that noted when observing flat areas of the surface of the dwarf planet can be a residual symptom of exposure to stagnant liquid, while the network of furrows could be formed under the influence whole rivers of liquid nitrogen, which acted on the surface of Pluto during climate change. This may indicate the presence of frozen hydrogen is still covering some sections of the bark of the dwarf planet.
“We think that we see the remnants of the once whole lakes of liquid hydrogen. The surface of these plots is very smooth, as if the residual liquid is frozen at the same level the entire surface of these areas”, — says the head of the mission “New horizons” Alan stern.
“It’s hard to suggest an alternative model which could explain such topography”.
Of course, the question arises as ice on the surface of the celestial body, located at a distance of 7.4 billion kilometers from the Sun, was subjected to sufficient heat to melt? Scientists explain this by the eccentricity of the orbit of Pluto, a dwarf planet due to which it is approaching the Sun at a distance of 4.4 billion kilometers, moving away from him at the distance of 7.4 billion kilometers.
“Most of the present surface of the Pluton has a “tropical” climate,” explains Richard BINZEL from the Massachusetts Institute of technology portal New Scientist.
Like Earth, the tilted axis of the dwarf planet, which, in turn, is manifested in the change of the seasons, the freezing of the poles and warm “tropical” regions. But if the Earth’s axis is only tilted by 23 degrees, Pluto is actually upside down, since the inclination of its axis is 120 degrees. This means that the “tropical” regions can be, even in the North, while the “Arctic” regions are located at the equator. All depends on the location of the planet relative to the Sun. This tilt has changed over time due to the almost elliptical orbit, which then alienates, then brings Pluto to the Sun. As a result, the surface temperature can change dramatically, which, in turn, may be the explanation for the appearance of “scars”.
New Scientist reports that the surface temperature of Pluto reached its highest point of about 800 000 years ago when axial tilt was 103 degrees. Due to the higher atmospheric pressure (higher than on Mars), frozen nitrogen could melt and pave the way through the rocky surface and eventually meet somewhere on the flatter sections. Although the presence of liquid nitrogen at the current Pluto now is not obvious (contrary to the current location of the dwarf planet in the Solar system), scientists believe that there is a probability of the presence of liquid: ice gathered on the surface, may create enough pressure to melt the reserves of nitrogen under the surface.