subsurface ocean – Astronomy Now

More evidence for water vapour jetting from icy Europa

16 May 2018 Astronomy Now

Data collected by the Galileo spacecraft during a 1997 flyby of Jupiter’s moon Europa indicate the probe likely flew through a plume of water vapor, the latest evidence the icy moon likely harbours a vast sub-surface ocean beneath its frozen crust.

A new perspective on how Pluto’s “icy heart” came to be

1 December 2016 Astronomy Now

Pluto’s “icy heart” is a bright, two-lobed feature on its surface that was discovered by NASA’s New Horizons team in 2015. The heart’s western lobe, informally named Sputnik Planitia, is a deep basin generally thought to have been created by a smaller body striking Pluto at extremely high speed, but a new study suggests a different origin.

New analysis supports subsurface ocean on Pluto

16 November 2016 Astronomy Now

A liquid ocean lying deep beneath Pluto’s frozen surface is the best explanation for features revealed by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, according to a new analysis. The idea that Pluto has a subsurface ocean is not new, but the study provides the most detailed investigation yet of its likely role in the evolution of key features such as the vast, low-lying plain known as Sputnik Planitia (formerly Sputnik Planum).