pluto's underground ocean possibility

[varek]

Pluto may join some other bodies in our solar system that have underground oceans.

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/265165/does-pluto-have-a-subterranean-ocean

 

[scotthm]

That should be quite a show. I hope none of the debris heads our way.

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[sojourner]

What should be "quite a show"? A collision that took place probably millions of years ago?

 

[scotthm]

What should be "quite a show"?

"Pluto may join some other bodies in our solar system"

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[JarodRussell]

Who cares? Pluto is not even a planet. Zing!

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Dwarf Planets can be interesting too. Pluto may not be the closest Dwarf Planet or the largest one, but it is certainly the most studied one.

 

[varek]

Who cares? Pluto is not even a planet. Zing!

Don't you find the existence of water--perhaps the size of an ocean--on other bodies in our solar system amazing? For decades, scientists told us no such thing was possible, belonging only to the world of science fiction.

Now, there's accumulating evidence that life-sustaining water has been (possibly, in some cases) found beyond the Earth?

 

[JarodRussell]

Who cares? Pluto is not even a planet. Zing!

Don't you find the existence of water--perhaps the size of an ocean--on other bodies in our solar system amazing? For decades, scientists told us no such thing was possible, belonging only to the world of science fiction.

Now, there's accumulating evidence that life-sustaining water has been (possibly, in some cases) found beyond the Earth?

Since hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, and 14+ billion years is A LOT of time to create plenty of oxygen, water should be quite common actually. I don't think that it was ever in the realm of fiction.

The hard part is to find water in liquid state. It's either frozen or vapor because the bodies are too close or too far away from the sun.

 

[B.J.]

While some of the stories you've been posting are interesting, I'd appreciate it if you'd link to some actual reputable news sources other than "Unexplained Mysteries".

 

[Spider]

Pluto is smaller than our moon. There would have to be some extraordinary circumstances involved for water to be in liquid form in it's interior.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

The relative lack of atmosphere also suggests to me some difficulties.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

If the water is subsurface, is the lack of atmosphere really such a big problem? It will be prevented by a large crust from turning into vapour and escaping. Europa is almost certain to have a subsurface ocean, and has less atmosphere than Pluto. Ganymede and Callisto are also thought to have an ocean without any significant atmosphere.

But more recently, Enceladus was revealed to posses an underground ocean as well. It's half the size and has a significantly smaller escape velocity than Pluto, and much like Pluto has a varied atmosphere (which is constantly escaping into space). So apparently, even at these conditions, a subsurface ocean is possible.

However, unless New Horizons finds something interesting when it gets there, Enceladus is also significantly more interesting than Pluto is by any measure. We'll know in one year.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I guess that brings up the point of why this is news, then, if there are so many other planetary bodies with the same thing.

 

[varek]

I guess that brings up the point of why this is news, then, if there are so many other planetary bodies with the same thing.

Alidar Jarok, you may not be old enough to remember, but for decades the scientific community always used to scoff at any serious suggestion that water could be found anywhere else except on the Earth.

Only recently did exploration find proof of water on Mars.

Now that we have been apparently finding water elsewhere, it opens up considerable opportunities not only for colonization, but also some impetus for rethinking our concepts of our solar system.

The fact that what was once considered sheer fantasy is now becoming accepted as scientific fact may show that we are making some progress.

 

[varek]

While some of the stories you've been posting are interesting, I'd appreciate it if you'd link to some actual reputable news sources other than "Unexplained Mysteries".

Forgive me, B.J. I was using a shortcut for late-breaking news. But, if you will notice, the sources for these stories often come from rather reputable sources, such as the BBC.

However, for greater reputability, I will try to start following through, back to the original source, for verification.

 

[Taylirious]

Can we bottle it & sell it?

 

[scotthm]

Now that we have been apparently finding water elsewhere, it opens up considerable opportunities not only for colonization, but also some impetus for rethinking our concepts of our solar system.

The finding of water elsewhere in the solar system does not open up opportunities for colonization so much as lessen one of many obstacles.

We have uninhabited lands on Earth that are many times easier to colonize than Mars and yet they're still deserted.

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