NASA spots (possible) ice volcano on Pluto

The resolution is 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) per pixel; the Sun illuminates the scene from the right. This time, the spacecraft captured a high-resolution photograph which NASA scientists said reveals a series of never-before-seen layers in the atmosphere of the dwarf planet.

Earlier reports have already mentioned that the team is looking at the huge possibility that there could be ice volcanoes on Pluto. The cryovolcano measures at 90 miles across and stands at a whopping 2.5 miles. The latest image release gives us our first color view of what could be the largest ice volcano in the outer Solar System.

Scientists are intrigued by the infrequent splotches of an unknown red material as well.

If Wright Mons was formed in the relatively recent past, that could mean the region was volcanically active as some point in the nearer part of Pluto’s history.

The Huffington Post says NASA scientists have spotted what appears to be a giant volcano on Pluto that erupts ice instead of lava, what’s known as a cryovolcano.

Tholins are what the small haze particles are likely made form and they react with each other to form complex macromolecules. But closer inspection over the subsequent months has taught NASA much more. Similar to what happens here on Earth, those surrounding particles are tiny nitrogen molecules that create the sky’s blue appearance. Those hydrocarbons scatter the sunlight, creating the blue haze. However the theory that they might be volcanoes are thus far not the weirdest explanations for them.

The ridged margins on Sputnik Planum’s surface mark the location where the cooled nitrogen object sinks back down.

An image of Pluto showing the icy plain being called the Sputnik Planum.