NASA
has released a new photograph taken by its New Horizons spacecraft that
shows what researchers believe is a cryovolcano — that is, an ice
volcano — on Pluto. The image was taken last summer and shows a part of
Pluto known as Wright Mons. NASA points toward a number of intriguing
features that hint at active volcanoes in Pluto’s past -- the volcano
spotted this time around is one of a possible pair.
According to the space agency, Wright Mons measures about 90 miles
from one side to the other and is about 2.5 miles high. Whether this
region is an ice volcano isn’t confirmed, but is suspected, and if such
suspicion proves true, NASA says it would be the biggest of its kind
found in the outer solar system.
Features that caught researchers’ attention include the relative lack
of red surface in that region, and likewise the singular existence of
one impact crater within Wright Mons — something that indicates that
region, relatively speaking, was formed not too long ago.
If Wright Mons was formed in the relatively recent past, that could
mean the region was volcanically active as some point in the nearer part
of Pluto’s history. A high-resolution version of the image above is
available
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