New Delhi :
Pluto once had lakes and rivers of liquid nitrogen, the latest findings of the New Horizons spacecraft have suggested. The spacecraft which is almost 300 million kilometers past Pluto came up with this valuable information. Large flat areas on the dwarf planet's surface are likely the result of bodies of still liquid, while networks of grooves were possibly cut by rivers of nitrogen, scientists say.
“Liquids may have existed on the surface of Pluto in the past,” said mission leader Alan Stern at a press conference today at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas.
Scientists came to this conclusion after combining detailed topographic map of Pluto’s surface gathered by New Horizons with models of its climate zones.
The findings also point towards the seasons of Pluto, most of it is tropical. Earth's tilted axis gives us changing seasons, freezing poles, and hot tropical regions, so too does Pluto's.
It is also believed that with an atmospheric pressure greater than that found on Mars, frozen nitrogen could have melted, carving its way across the rocky surface, and pooling in flatter areas. Scientists say Pluto in its current position may still harbor some wetness.
