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New Study Reveals Pluto's Unique Geology

NASA

One of the first major studies of Pluto’s geology appears in the most recent edition of the Journal of Science. It used data from the New Horizons mission to get a better picture of the dwarf planet’s surface. As Arizona Public Radio’s Justin Regan reports, the study found that so-called “volatile materials” have shaped Pluto’s landscape. 

These materials include nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide. On Pluto they reach temperatures where they constantly cycle between solid and gas states, which makes them mobile. Dr. Will Grundy is a planetary astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff and co-authored the study.

“They are accumulating into thick layers and flowing as glaciers and carving the terrain. They have a density that’s slightly higher than the density of the water ice bedrock itself. So they can undercut the bedrock and loft chunks of bedrock and form mountains that way,” said Grundy.

He also says the process is similar to erosion on Earth where water can carve canyons and shape shorelines. Scientists continue to debate whether there are also plate tectonics and other traditional geologic activity on Pluto. 

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