KJZZ is a service of Rio Salado College,
and Maricopa Community Colleges

Copyright © 2024 KJZZ/Rio Salado College/MCCCD
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

NAU Astronomer Calculates Age Of Pluto's 'Heart'

Pluto's heart-shaped region
(Photo by NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI)
Pluto's heart-shaped region, photographed by the New Horizons spacecraft in July.

A new study from Northern Arizona University says Pluto’s heart-shaped region is “surprisingly young” — less than 10 million years.

Astronomer David Trilling authored the study. He examined a smooth region on Pluto called Sputnik Planum, photographed by NASA’s New Horizons mission in July.

Trilling said the lack of craters was a surprise. He calculated how often Pluto should receive impacts from outer space.

“And we did some math using our knowledge of the outer solar system, and concluded that that region of Pluto — the surface has to be younger than 10 million years old,” he said.

That’s younger than some rocks in the Grand Canyon.

Trilling said scientists don’t yet know what kind of geologic activity erases the craters. Slabs of nitrogen ice might scrape over the surface, or icy volcanoes could erupt from underground.

The study was published in PLOS ONE.

RELATED: How Our View Of Pluto Has Changed Since 1930

RELATED: Initial Results From Pluto Flyby Reveal Geological Activity

What's Shaping Pluto's Surface?

Tags
Melissa Sevigny is a reporter at KNAU in Flagstaff.