Pluto Mystery Deepens; Studies Suggest It Hosted Liquid Nitrogen Lakes and Rivers

Once the smallest member of the planetary system and now merely a "dwarf planet", Pluto's story have always fascinated people of the Earth. The tiny planet always manages to intrigue scientists and if the latest report is anything to go by, one can only say that Pluto is peculiar to the core.

As per reports, scientists are saying that the planet may have hosted liquids on its surface within the last million years. The fact was stated in a report which was tabled at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference on Monday, March 21. It said that the finding is quite shocking because the average temperatures fluctuate around -400 Fahrenheit on the frozen world.

The report has rightly baffled the scientists, but they are also saying that it is possible. An image of the planet sent by the New Horizons spacecraft, in July 2015, had indicated the presence of surface features on the planet that are, in all probability, created by liquid. The crisscross gullies and branches are a work of flowing liquid.

Though the scientists could not confirm the type of liquid that flowed on Pluto, it is widely conjectured to be nitrogen. Neon, molecular oxygen and molecular helium were also on the speculation list but they were rejected. Reason: they are unlikely to cause the formations due to their insufficient quantity.

Another solid reason is based on the planet's atmospheric pressure, which changes with dramatic shifts during its 248-year orbit. It experiences the extremes of nearly complete sunlight as well as continuous night, which makes the planet's surface vulnerable to radical pressure changes. Thus, it is natural to liquefy or solidify under the influence of the pressure.

At present, the planet is in an intermediate state, somewhere in the middle of the extremes, and the pressure is atypically low. Well, whatever it might be at present, based on the studies, it can only be said that Pluto is a very active planet and still in the stage of evolution. It will definitely come up with many more surprises in the future.