Pluto's 'beating heart' explained

[nitpicker]

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36428356

Pluto's 'beating heart' explained

By Jonathan Amos
BBC Science Correspondent

1 June 2016

The spectacular, flat landscape that dominates the left side of Pluto's icy "heart" can now be explained, say scientists. Sputnik Planum is the most prominent feature on the diminutive world, covering 900,000 square km. Broken into an array of polygons, it is devoid of any impact craters.

Reporting in the journal Nature, the researchers say that roiling cells of nitrogen ice remove any blemishes, maintaining a super-smooth appearance. They argue that a competing idea, that the polygons are a consequence of cooling and contraction akin to giant "mud cracks", does not fit with the observations.
(snip)

Two separate teams have looked at the information from that encounter and have come to broadly the same conclusion - that only overturning ice, driven by the dwarf planet's internal heat, can produce the cellular terrain.

(snip)

New Horizons found the planum ices to contain mostly nitrogen, with limited amounts of methane and carbon monoxide. At the temperatures that persist on Pluto's surface (an extremely frigid -235C), this material is still capable of flowing. Modelling work suggests just a few centimetres per year of horizontal movement in the tops of the domes would be sufficient to re-surface them in short order - significantly faster than the likely rate of impacts from bodies falling on to Pluto.
(snip)

[Javaman]

1. Mud Crack was the name of my Merle Haggard cover band. nt

[Wilms]

2. That is a GREAT band name.

Good for you!

[SCantiGOP]

4. Mudcrutch

Is already taken by Tom Petty.

[hunter]

3. Pluto is an exciting place.

Much more interesting than Earth's moon, for example.

Or maybe we still don't know anything...

I wish we humans spent more on space exploration and less on war.

[PJMcK]

5. Great article!

Thanks for posting the link, nitpicker.

In my mind, Pluto will always have a special place in our Solar System. When I was a kid, I had one of the wall maps of the planets and thought Pluto would be the most interesting place to visit because it was the furthest away. Years later, as a cruising sailor, I would often choose my destinations similarly by finding the farthest harbor to sail to.

More specifically, Pluto was at the edge of our home in the galaxy. Once you pass there, you're on your way to another star's system. That's incredibly exciting and the lessons we've learned from New Horizons, the Voyagers and other probes have been amazing. I always felt a little sad that Pluto was demoted as an astral body.

[diverdownjt]

9. Just wait till we find out what else is in the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud...

There could be dozens of more pluto's out there. As a species we need to get serious about
exploring what is out there...our solar system is only half explored. They are talking about
planet nine...what about ten and eleven and so on. These things are so far away and
relatively so small that they don't reflect much light and are very hard to see. We need to
re-task the Hubble to look in our own cosmic back yard and that of Alpha Centauri. So much
to find in our neighborhood....let's start looking now.

[PJMcK]

13. Your enthusiasm is encouraging!

It's very likely, as you wrote, that there are all kinds of surprises in the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud. Of course, astronomers won't find any more "planets" since they've already determined that anything that isn't in the solar plane isn't a "planet" per se, (wink). I say, who cares?! It's fantastically fascinating and that kind of exploration is what we should be pursuing with our space program.

Have a great weekend, diverdownjt.

[passiveporcupine]

6. The Bill McKinnon interview is so cool

Last edited Sat Jun 4, 2016, 07:35 PM - Edit history (1)

and all the while you stare at these amazing polygons of nitrogen ice that look to me like they have fingerprints on them.

That was so interesting. Thanks so much for posting this.

[diverdownjt]

10. The area is named Sputnik Planum....

Maybe it should be re-named Sputnik Mare(sea).

[passiveporcupine]

12. You are right.

It's not really a plane, but a depression filled with ice.

[PJMcK]

14. Just a teaser

The article in the link is very cool and informative, as you note, passiveporcupine.

Pardon my tiny pin-prick: Bill McKibben is an American environmentalist, author and journalist and I believe his writings have been published in The New York Times, The Antlantic and many other publications.

Of course, you were referring to the interview with Professor Bill McKinnon in the linked article.

By explanation of my observation, my last name is McKibbins and this is always an issue!

[passiveporcupine]

15. Thanks for the correction.

I don't know how I switched it, except I'd heard of McKibben before and I guess my brain just latched onto that.

I'll fix my post.

[burrowowl]

8. K&R!!!!!!

[diverdownjt]

11. Thx...nitpicker...nice one....