Pluto

a reply to: AdmireTheDistance
I've just noticed that the background in your avatar has some resemblance to certain areas of Pluto. These patterns, often spotted in nature at all scales (from bacteria colonies to patterns on giraffe's skin, to planetary patterns) are the work of chaos acting according to some basic mathematical rules in the universe. I swear, as I was out and about today, I saw some similar patterns in the wet asphalt and soil. And I have often noticed that cloud patterns in the sky echo the structure of interstellar clouds of gas and dust. Like above like below.

On this topic, I suggest watching the BBC documentary "The Secret Life of Chaos" www.dailymotion.com...

a reply to: wildespace

cool mosaics. good job with your own example

a reply to: RoScoLaz4
Thanks.

Here, I've also added colour data from Ralph camera, approximating the "true colours":



I thought Rosetta and Dawn missions were exciting and full of revelation, but the New Horizons mission to Pluto takes the Oscar. We're discovering and exploring a whole new world here, for the first time in many years.

Wanted to post on my latest adventures regarding the Plutonians, err Pluto, thanks goes to the New Horizons mission and all of the people who post and write about it, giving me the opportunity to explore this and write smart-seeming things. Do keep in mind everything I write here and elsewhere is subject to large error and speculation.

It's regarding whether or not there're any liquid seas or oceans underneath Pluto's surface.

So first thing.... There does not appear to be a significant equatoral bulge. This could be the result of the ice flows reducing it. This could indicate a liquid layer somewhere. The idea is at some point in the past Pluto spun much more rapidly, producing a bulge, but because the planet still has a liquid layer and its rotation has greatly decreased, the bulge has reduced to insignificant levels. But if the planet has too little bulge maybe that would suggest the planet is very dense, never had any oceans, so never had an appreciable bulge?

Second, there're indications of many ice flows, especially in the recent images. This means the ice has high enough viscosity to flow, but it also means heat is being taken away from any possible liquids below the ice, meaning liquid seas or oceans beneath the flowing ice are less and less likely--maybe impossible.

Thirdly, any underlying ocean layer should produce tension on the surface, observed as stretches. Squeezed or compressed tensional features would indicate a solid, not a liquid layer beneath. And these should be visible on the entire planet if it's a planet-wide subsurface ocean.

Fourth, it seems the ice flows in the newest images result from the ice collecting and weighing down on itself. AS a reuslt of all the weight, it pushes down and outward, filling in areas and expanding out like a thick liquid. That's why it looks like a frozen milky cream (to my eyes). It's not tied to a layer of liquid underneath, like I'd otherwise think.

Fifth, there's indications of some internal heating deep inside Pluto, due to its young surface. This might stem from the fact the collision which created Charon happened relatively recently. Or it could mean an abundance of radioactive materials? In any case, if the impact DID happen more recently than thought, it's possible some ocean or sea is still remaining, surviving on the remnant heating which was creating during the collision and the ensuing chaos as they were aligning to each other. Now that they're locked to each other and time has passed, much of that heating has been lost.

Here's an old link about the possibilty of subsurface oceans from 2010:
www.thefreelibrary.com - Pluto may be warm enough to harbour ocean beneath its ice shell....

And if there indeed is an ocean on the planet, the surface should show cracks created as Pluto gradually lost heat and the ice cap thickened over billions of years. That's because the freezing ice would have expanded, causing the surface to bulge upward, cracking in the process. If there was only ice, and never an ocean, the cooling of the planet should have contracted the ice rather than expanded it. Once formed, ice contracts as it cools.