New Horizons spots two potential volcanoes on Pluto
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029363
Verge : Among the discoveries being made by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft are two potential cryovolcanoes at Pluto’s south pole. From images captured by the craft as it flew by in July, scientists discerned two mountains that are several kilometers high and tens of kilometers wide. Each has a large hole in its summit, from which material may have been ejected at one time. Similar volcanoes have been seen on icy moons throughout the solar system. But Pluto is not a moon and has no host planet whose tug could create the friction and heat to foment an eruption. One theory put forth is that radioactive material decaying deep inside Pluto may be the source of the volcanoes’ energy.