The new findings point to evidence of dunes of frozen methane on Pluto. The news of interest since it indicates that the distant dwarf planet has a far more dynamic planetary ecosystem than previously thought. Prior to the finding, it had been thought that Pluto’s atmosphere (mainly nitrogen with minor amounts of methane and carbon monoxide) was far too thin to be able to shape, through the presence of wind, the types of features common to deserts on Earth. The findings into the methane dunes therefore came as a surprise to NASA researchers.
The data comes from NASA’s New Horizons mission, which flew close to Pluto in July 2015. The data from this mission continues to be analysed. The space probe sped past Pluto at a rate of 58,536 kilometers per hour (36,373 miles per hour), collecting valuable data as moved further out into space.
New Horizons
New Horizons is an interplanetary space probe that was launched as a part of NASA’s New Frontiers program. The main mission to perform a flyby study of the Pluto, followed by a secondary mission to fly close to and study other Kuiper belt objects. In doing so the craft became the fifth artificial object to leave the Solar System.
Pluto
Pluto (or ‘134340 Pluto’) is a dwarf planet located in the Kuiper belt, which refs to the ring of bodies beyond Neptune. It was the first Kuiper belt object to be discovered, originally classified as a planet and then downgraded to dwarf planet status. Pluto is primarily made of ice and rock and is relatively small—about one-sixth the mass of the Moon. However, the object continues to fascinate scientists interested in the origins of the Solar System.
New insights into Pluto
The New Horizons data into Pluto relates to a plain in the surface called Sputnik Planitia. Earlier image shad suggested that parts of the plain are covered with fields of dunes. These are, as the new data reveals, dues of methane located close to a range of mountains composed of water ice, which stand 5 kilometers tall.
The newly detected methane dunes a situated between 0.4 and 1 kilometer apart, where the surface temperatures are minus 230 degrees Celsius (minus 382 Fahrenheit). The dunes appear to be composed of and that they are made up of particles of methane ice, which are some 200-300 micrometers in diameter. In other words, the methane particles are around the size of grains of sand.
According to Jani Radebaugh, a planetary scientist at Brigham Young University, speaking with The Guardian: “Pluto, even though it’s so far away from Earth and so very cold, has a riot of processes we never expected to see. It is far more interesting than any of us dreamed, and tells us that these very distant bodies are well worth visiting.”
Researchers have compared Pluto’s dunes to those in California’s Death Valley and China’s Taklamakan desert, albeit with a very different composition. While dunes have been detected elsewhere in solar system: on Mars, Venus, and Saturn’s moon Titan, Pluto’s are the only dunes to be found to be composed of methane.
The findings have been published in the journal Science. The research paper succinctly is titled “Dunes on Pluto.”
Essential Science
This article is part of Digital Journal’s regular Essential Science columns. Each week Tim Sandle explores a topical and important scientific issue. Last week we outlined a new study that indicated that consuming two ounces of tree nuts per day, in place of carbohydrates, can improve blood sugar level control and blood lipids in those with type 2 diabetes.
The week before we looked at a new type of battery that can re-charge in a matter of seconds and looks set to revolutionize mobile devices.
