Under the 'heart' of Pluto (Tombaugh Regio – a huge ice region of a characteristic shape) hides a viscous liquid ocean – according to the American space agency NASA, citing data from the New Horizons spacecraft. Data on this was published in an article in the journal Nature.
Scientists believe that the presence of a subsurface ocean could solve a long-standing mystery: why for many decades the Tombaugh Regio region, this bright region of Pluto, is in a locked position almost exactly opposite the largest moon of the dwarf planet, Charon.
According to the researchers, the deep ocean can serve as a kind of 'gravitational anomaly', which is the rope that connects Pluto to its satellite. Over millions of years, the planet has unfolded, aligning its subsurface ocean and the heart-shaped region above it almost exactly opposite the line joining Pluto and Charon.
“Pluto has proven difficult to study,” said co-researcher Richard Binzel, professor of earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences at MIT. 'Previously, there was only speculation that a near-surface layer of water could be found somewhere on Pluto. This information was confirmed by a flyby of Pluto and data analysis, thanks to which we received convincing arguments in favor of the existence of a subsurface ocean. Pluto continues to amaze us. '
Sources: Phys
