Pluto Could Have As Much Water As Earth

Scientists have found evidence that tiny, distant Pluto harbors a hidden ocean beneath the frozen surface of its heart shaped central plain contains as much water as all of Earth’s seas. The finding, reported on 16 November in two research papers published in the journal Nature, adds Pluto to growing list of worlds in the solar system beyond Earth believed to have underground oceans, some of which potentially could be habitats for life. Pluto’s ocean, which is likely slushy with ice, lies 150 to 200 km beneath the dwarf planet’s icy surface and is about 100km deep, planetary scientists said in an interview. With its ocean covered by so much ice, Pluto is not a prime candidate for life, added Massachusetts Institute of Technology planetary scientist Richard Binzel another of the researchers. But Binzel added that “one is careful to never say the word impossible.” Liquid water is considered one of the essential ingredients for life. The discovery was made through an analysis of images and data collected by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, which flew past Pluto and its entourage of moons in July 2015.