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Icy Volcanoes May Erupt On Pluto (space.com)

Posted by samzenpus on from the cold-explosion dept.

An anonymous reader writes: The New Horizons probe may have discovered two possible ice volcanoes on the surface of Pluto. "These are two really extraordinary features. Nothing like this has ever been seen in the solar system." Oliver White, a New Horizons postdoctoral researcher with NASA's Ames Research Center in California said. The mountains have been informally named Wright Mons and Picard Mons, and at their crests, each peak hosts a central crater, reminiscent of peaks called "shield volcanoes" on Earth. "Whatever they are, they're definitely weird" — 'volcanoes' is the least weird hypothesis at the moment," White says.

32 comments

  1. Heat source? by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    So in the absence of tidal flexing in Pluto's vicinity, where's the heat coming from?
    http://news.sciencemag.org/spa...

    1. Re:Heat source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      FTA:

      "Scientists don't yet know what could be generating the heat inside Pluto necessary to create a volcano on the surface. One possibility, also presented at the conference, is that an ammonia-water slurry mantle lies beneath the surface, according to a statement from AAS. The research, performed by graduate student Alex Trowbridge and professor Jay Melosh, of Purdue University in Indiana, suggests that, as cooler material sinks through the subsurface layers, hot material might rise, leading to geological activity that could include cryovolcanism.

      Another possibility, which White focused on, has to do with a gradually cooling rocky core, originally heated during the dwarf planet's formation. The heat required to melt ices would be significantly lower than those required to release rock, allowing the gradual mobilization of material that could, in theory, erupt through a volcano."

    2. Re:Heat source? by Rei · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Lots of possibilities.

      1. Residual formation heat or heat from major ancient impacts. Low, but when you're talking about the tiny inputs needed for cryogenic systems, it's possible.

      2. Radiothermal heating. Again, low given Pluto's small size, but see #1

      3. Solar heating. Again, see #1.

      4. Chemical reactions in Pluto's rock. This is what's believed to be a major contributor to Enceladus's oceans (serpentinization of rock leading to a "soda sea")

      5. Subduction. The subduction of denser materials and the rising of lighter materials is an energetically favorable process. In particular, during cooling liquid nitrogen would have tended to rise over water ice (water ice being denser than liquid nitrogen), but solid nitrogen (when compacted) is denser than solid water, so after it froze it would be energetic for it to subduct.

      6. Relaxation. Any layers in non-gravitational equilibrium form due to Pluto's history relaxing to a more gravitational equilibrium (regardless of whether subduction is occurring) yields a release of energy.

      7. Transitions between different ice phases. At temperatures and pressures we're used to most matter that we encounter in our daily lives only comes in one crystalline phase. But the various ices found on Pluto have numerous different ice phases, with different energies and densities associated with them. Most of these can metastably persist for long periods of time but transition when conditions favor doing so. The transitions can even sometimes be explosive.

      8. Solar wind-driven sublimation. At one point it was thought that the solar wind had taken off nearly a thousand meters of nitrogen ice from Pluto, which would of course cause a redistribution of Pluto's mass and resettling. However this now seems unlikely as the extent of Pluto's atmosphere has been refined downward, reducing the rate of mass a thousandfold.

      And many more - there are vast numbers of possibilities. That said, calling these ice volcanoes still sounds weird to me. Nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide ices are too readily flowing to support structures this high - it was well known in advance of the mission that any high contours would have to be water ice. But Pluto appears to have a mantle of nitrogen ice (exposed at Sputnik) under a water ice crust (possibly with layers of denser high pressure water ices underneath the nitrogen, although who knows). So how are flows of liquid water coming up through easily-flowing nitrogen ices? That doesn't make any sense to me. Also, that surface texture doesn't look anything like lava flows, at least on the large scale (some of it kind of looks like pillows, but there's no logical reason that pillows could be produced on such absurdly large scales on Pluto). The stuff nearest the "crater" looks tectonic. Honestly, I'd be less surprised to learn that it's some kind of huge frost heaving structure rather than a cryovolcanic one, maybe driven by solid-state ice phase transitions. Frost heaving tends to produce "hummocky" terrain like is seen in the pictures, and some frost heaving structures have central "craters". Another possibility would be mass loss rather than eruption. Perhaps there was a pocket of nitrogen, methane, or carbon monoxide ice long ago embedded in a large chunk of water ice that has since all sublimated away, leaving a giant collapsed sinkhole (which is being interpreted as a "crater"). Maybe it even happens regularly, some lighter ices seeping in, building up a chamber, then subliming away. Yet another possibility would be mildly analogous to pseudocraters on Earth - perhaps there are explosive events there (such as self-propagating solid state ice transitions, or rapid vaporization of "warm" nitrogen/methane/carbon monoxide ices suddenly released from pressure) that eject material and form a structure looking like a volcanic crater without actually having volcanic "roots" feeding liquid water in.

      --
      The yellowcake is a lie.
    3. Re:Heat source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      9. Radioactive decay of whatever the core is made of.

      10. Waste heat from the civilization on Pluto.

    4. Re:Heat source? by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Is it possible that it is tidal heating from Pluto's satellites? Charon is pretty big, could it induce tidal heating in Pluto, and the inverse?

      http://www.space.com/16535-plu...

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    5. Re:Heat source? by Rei · · Score: 1

      No, Charon and Pluto are tidally locked. That said, any changes in mass distribution on one can impart energy to the other.

      --
      The yellowcake is a lie.
    6. Re:Heat source? by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      I was not aware of that, thank you.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    7. Re:Heat source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you aware we think of you as a fucking retarded abnormal autistic weirdo Coren22?

    8. Re:Heat source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look at the the autistic retarded bastard Coren22 trying to comprehend thought! It's disturbing.

  2. Pluto Climate Change? by BisuDagger · · Score: 1, Troll

    Should we start being concerned about the effect of climate change on Pluto and how it may affect us 2 millions years from now?

    1. Re:Pluto Climate Change? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, we don't live on Pluto. And in 2 million years, there won't be any human beings one way or another; evolution is still happening.

      Take your meds, you fucking loon.

    2. Re:Pluto Climate Change? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ahhhhh, a republican. I can recognize one from 2.66 billion miles away.

      Yes Sir, we should definitely start building a wall to protect President Trump Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Jr. and all the rest of his peasant serfs from the hoards of marauding Plutonians who will immigrate here illegally after they have ruined their planet.

      Hey, did you know that Trump's wall won't keep THEM out, but it can and will definitely keep YOU in? Did you ever think of that

      On the other hand, walls cost a TON of money, and anyway why should we worry about someone still alive in the future? I mean sure we procreate like rabbits for no other reason than because an imaginary super-being told us to, and we claim to care for our children most of all and above all else, but why on God's Green Earth would we want to protect their home and future?

      Go scratch your puzzler, Mr. Republican, and let the grown ups run the world.

  3. Coren22 likes being bitchslapped 65++:1 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "I guess we should avoid your crap, it looks like it is marked as malware. Good luck getting that removed." - by Coren22 (1625475) on Monday November 02, 2015 @03:52PM (#50850445)

    It's safe proven by 57 antivirus programs recently in BOTH its 64-bit model https://www.virustotal.com/en/...

    +

    Its 32-bit model too https://www.virustotal.com/en/...

    &

    More "SALT IN YOUR WOUNDS" -> http://f.virscan.org/APKHostsF...

    ---

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus per this VERY recent testing of them all http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    APK

    P.S.=> /.'ers say my work is good too:

    "his hosts program is actually pretty good" - by xenotransplant (4179011) on Monday August 10, 2015 @03:34PM (#50287195)

    "I like your host file system." - by Karmashock (2415832) on Wednesday September 09, 2015 @03:57PM (#50489401)

    "APK is kinda right... I've given up on JS based adblocking and gone to blackholing in /etc/hosts, just like it was back in the 90s. The computational load has gotten intolerable for any ad-blocking using JS. I've tried his hosts file generating software. It works." - by bmo (77928) on Thursday October 15, 2015 @11:30AM (#50736071)

    "his hosts tool is actually useful for those cases in which one does indeed want to locally block stuff outright while consuming minimum system resources" by alexgieg (948359) on Friday September 25, 2015 @09:57AM (#50596461)

    ... apk

  4. Coren22 likes failing security & coding by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Coren22 says "hosts=bad" (they add security, speed, & reliability) & bitches on admin priv to UPDATE vs. threats

    "So, have you figured out why privilege escalation is a bad thing yet?" - by Coren22 on Tuesday September 22, 2015 @05:15PM (#50577809)

    & admits using admin priv himself

    +

      How else can I programmatically update hosts minus it in Windows?

    ---

    "Of course it requires elevation to write to the hosts file" - by Coren22 (1625475) on Wednesday September 23, 2015 @05:35PM (#50585879)

    You FINALLY later admit there's no other way!

    FACT:

    Even MalwareBytes AntiMalware (best one) DEMANDS you use admin privelege (you saying it's "bad" too?) it can't do its job fully otherwise, like many security tools do!

    APK

    P.S.=> Lastly - Coren22, there is a CURE for your "outism" due to your retarded by assburgers clearly defective brain (lol) - quit making childish sigs about me & sockpuppet accounts as well as telling lies about me - I'll stop OUTING you "signature boy" troll scum that you are... apk

    1. Re:Coren22 likes failing security & coding by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jesus Fucking Christ, APK, you've gone completely mental.

    2. Re:Coren22 likes failing security & coding by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmmm. Apk isn't the one with aspergers or autism like Coren22 who went dead silent after apk crushed him here http://slashdot.org/comments.p...

  5. And... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Monkeys MAY fly out of my butt!

  6. Coren22 likes being bitchslapped 65++:1 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "I guess we should avoid your crap, it looks like it is marked as malware. Good luck getting that removed." - by Coren22 (1625475) on Monday November 02, 2015 @03:52PM (#50850445)

    It's safe proven by 57 antivirus programs recently in BOTH its 64-bit model https://www.virustotal.com/en/...

    +

    Its 32-bit model too https://www.virustotal.com/en/...

    &

    More "SALT IN YOUR WOUNDS" -> http://f.virscan.org/APKHostsF...

    ---

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus per this VERY recent testing of them all http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    APK

    P.S.=> /.'ers say my work is good too:

    "his hosts program is actually pretty good" - by xenotransplant (4179011) on Monday August 10, 2015 @03:34PM (#50287195)

    "I like your host file system." - by Karmashock (2415832) on Wednesday September 09, 2015 @03:57PM (#50489401)

    "APK is kinda right... I've given up on JS based adblocking and gone to blackholing in /etc/hosts, just like it was back in the 90s. The computational load has gotten intolerable for any ad-blocking using JS. I've tried his hosts file generating software. It works." - by bmo (77928) on Thursday October 15, 2015 @11:30AM (#50736071)

    "his hosts tool is actually useful for those cases in which one does indeed want to locally block stuff outright while consuming minimum system resources" by alexgieg (948359) on Friday September 25, 2015 @09:57AM (#50596461)

    ... apk

  7. Least Weird Hypothesis? by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

    FTFA:

    "Whatever they are, they're definitely weird — 'volcanoes' is the least weird hypothesis at the moment"

    Oh c'mon! What's the most weird hypothesis at the moment?

    Since a new Star Wars movie is opening in a few weeks, I'll go with "Unshielded Thermal Exhaust Port." And add the obligatory, "That's no dwarf planet..."

  8. Coren22 likes lying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "APK doesn't think that DNS servers are worth running and seems to believe that somehow Microsoft Active Directory can run without DNS." - by Coren22 (1625475) on Tuesday October 27, 2015 @12:58PM (#50811615)

    Where'd I say AD will run minus DNS Coren22? I've said AD = internal network DNS dependent as far back as 2007 http://forums.tweaktown.com/wi...

    (Search this in BOLD there "To warn users who have ActiveDirectory/AD LAN-WAN setups to NOT use external DNS servers!" referring to OpenDNS suggestions for those using AD stupid in the POSTS BEFORE IT in my security guides for users (geared to stand alone single machines no less), & right there on that page proves it stupid - so even if you posted as myself someplace here on /. "impersonating me", I have your ass NOW, shithead!)

    I've also stated MANY TIMES I use remote DNS in OpenDNS @ home (but not @ work on AD networks + exchange/outlook: Free OpenDNS model doesn't work with AD dependent Exchange + Outlook specifically you lying little imbecile).

    I also don't hardcode in "every site there is under the sun" is why, so I have to use DNS, but OpenDNS & rarely.

    I also RARELY MISS A LOOKUP since I put where I spend a good 95++% of my time online in my favorite sites into hosts @ the TOP of hosts for utmost LOCAL FASTER RESOLUTION SPEEDS and more reliability vs. Open DNS (not OpenDNS) resolvers being abused, Kaminsky redirect poisoned DNS servers (of which 99.999% of ISP DNS are not proofed against to this very day even though a patch exists which OpenDNS uses), rogue DNS servers, and yes ROUTERS with bushwhacked by malware DNS settings (happening a LOT lately).

    Hardcodes in hosts are faster than remote DNS, waste less resources than local dns in power, cpu cycles, RAM, & other I/O by FAR considering ALL THE PARTS of such a setup in programs, data, I/O, & power (especially if setup as a separate machine).

    APK

    P.S.=> You're a disgusting liar... apk

  9. Coren22 likes failing security & coding by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Coren22 says "hosts=bad" (they add security, speed, & reliability) & bitches on admin priv to UPDATE vs. threats

    "So, have you figured out why privilege escalation is a bad thing yet?" - by Coren22 on Tuesday September 22, 2015 @05:15PM (#50577809)

    & admits using admin priv himself

    +

      How else can I programmatically update hosts minus it in Windows?

    ---

    "Of course it requires elevation to write to the hosts file" - by Coren22 (1625475) on Wednesday September 23, 2015 @05:35PM (#50585879)

    You FINALLY later admit there's no other way!

    FACT:

    Even MalwareBytes AntiMalware (best one) DEMANDS you use admin privelege (you saying it's "bad" too?) it can't do its job fully otherwise, like many security tools do!

    APK

    P.S.=> Lastly - Coren22, there is a CURE for your "outism" due to your retarded by assburgers clearly defective brain (lol) - quit making childish sigs about me & sockpuppet accounts as well as telling lies about me - I'll stop OUTING you, the immature "signature boy" troll... apk

  10. Coren22 can't keep his word... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject & links where I tried to make peace - says it all w/ proof of it from his trolling "signature boy" mouth http://slashdot.org/comments.p... & here too http://slashdot.org/comments.p... + here http://slashdot.org/comments.p...

    * :)

    (I've discovered that trying to make peace with a mental retard due to assbergers & OUTISM is a difficult thing & largely apparently unachievable...)

    APK

    P.S.=> You brought it on yourself Coren22, nobody else - you sow the wind? Here comes the whirlwind, & all your sockpuppets, signatures, & fellow trolls can't stop it (lol, you're 'outta bullets' in downmods) - so "the beatings will continue" until you stop your immature childish signature bs... apk

  11. Coren likes to be crushed (crushing himself) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject: Says it all & this link, dismantling him point-by-"so-called 'point'" of his publicly http://slashdot.org/comments.p...

    * :)

    (Coren22, I tried to give you a chance, 3x no less - you're a fool: You mistake mercy for weakness, like cretin brutes in the streets do... you paid the price!)

    APK

    P.S.=> I notice you stopped responding there - "Gosh, golly gee - why's that?" (not) - but I expect you'll TRY some more b.s. as that's all "your kind" (trolls) understand - crap like downmodding my posts (which you & your sockpuppets OR fellow trolls have here already NOW TELLING OTHERS TO TROLL ME BY UNIDENTIFIABLE AC POSTS http://slashdot.org/comments.p... as I've torn you ALL up 1 by 1 every time as I have yourself above... you did this, to yourself "signature boy")... apk

  12. Coren22 can't keep his word... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject & links where I tried to make peace - says it all w/ proof of it from his trolling "signature boy" mouth http://slashdot.org/comments.p... & here too http://slashdot.org/comments.p... + here http://slashdot.org/comments.p...

    * :)

    (I've discovered that trying to make peace with a mental retard due to assbergers & OUTISM is a difficult thing & largely apparently unachievable...)

    APK

    P.S.=> You brought it on yourself Coren22, nobody else - you sow the wind? Here comes the whirlwind, & all your sockpuppets, signatures, & fellow trolls can't stop it (lol, you're 'outta bullets' in downmods) - so "the beatings will continue" until you stop your immature childish signature bs... apk

  13. Coren22 likes to be crushed (crushed himself) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject: Says it all & this link, dismantling him point-by-"so-called 'point'" of his publicly http://slashdot.org/comments.p...

    * :)

    (Coren22, I tried to give you a chance, 3x no less - you're a fool: You mistake mercy for weakness, like cretin brutes in the streets do... you paid the price!)

    APK

    P.S.=> I notice you stopped responding there - "Gosh, golly gee - why's that?" (not) - but I expect you'll TRY some more b.s. as that's all "your kind" (trolls) understand - crap like downmodding my posts (which you & your sockpuppets OR fellow trolls have here already NOW TELLING OTHERS TO TROLL ME BY UNIDENTIFIABLE AC POSTS http://slashdot.org/comments.p... as I've torn you ALL up 1 by 1 every time as I have yourself above - you did this, to yourself "signature boy")... apk

  14. you know what this means? by The_Rook · · Score: 1

    on pluto, we would be molten lava creatures.

    --
    when religion is no longer the opiate of the masses, governments will resort to real opiates.
  15. Picard Mons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Have we run out of real people to recognize, and just going with Star Trek characters now?

    Where's Mare Locutus?