Pluto Planetary Science is the Gift that Keeps on Giving

Universe Today Universe Today —

Pluto as seen by New Horizons during its 2015 flyby.</p><p>Sputnik Planitia is a heart-shaped region that appears to be resurfaced by upwelling liquid nitrogen from below.</p><p>That action creates what look like convection cells outlined by darker lines that could be flow channels.</p><p>Credit: NASA/JHU/APL/New Horizons missionhttps://www.universetoday.com/article_images/Pluto-01_Stern_03_Pluto_Color_TXT_20260812_215944.jpg" width="1280" />

Something's wetting the surface of dwarf planet Pluto along the northern edge of Sputnik Planitia, and planetary scientists have found a good explanation for it.

A recent study of new Horizons images taken during the 2015 flyby revealed evidence that liquid nitrogen is rising up through cracks in Sputnik Planitia.

That's the giant heart-shaped glacial basin we see in all the Pluto images taken by the spacecraft.

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