Analyzing data collected by the NASA spacecraft New Horizons during the historic passage of the Pluto system in 2015, astronomers from the SETI Institute were surprised to find ammonia deposits along the fault in the area where water ice is present. This, according to researchers, indicates a recent tectonic activity in this region, and also provides additional support for the idea of the existence of a liquid ocean under the ice crust of a dwarf planet.
Ice containing ammonia is usually short-lived in such environments and disappears when irradiated with ultraviolet light or charged particles in just 400 thousand – billion years. Thus, the findings suggest that ammonia found on the surface of a dwarf planet may have recently been precipitated as a result of cryovolcanism, which, in turn, may indicate the presence of liquid water in the depths of Pluto.
The chemical imprint of ammonia is seen in reddish ices in the range of up to 200 kilometers from the Pluto region, which is informally named Virgil’s Furrow and adjacent to Elliot Crater. Apparently, this region, like many others on a dwarf planet, was active in the past. On the other hand, if cryovolcanism is involved in the creation of ammonia deposits, this suggests both ongoing geological processes and the rise of ammonia-containing aqueous solutions, presumably originating in the sub-surface ocean.
Ammonia is an excellent antifreeze that can significantly reduce the freezing point of water. If the subsurface ocean of Pluto contains it, this may explain why the water in it remains liquid at such a distance from the Sun.
In addition, the irradiation of ice rich in ammonia and organic substances, as shown by laboratory experiments, can lead to the formation of molecules necessary for the nucleation of known life forms, including nucleic bases that make up DNA and RNA. This does not necessarily mean that there was or is life on Pluto, but indicates the possibility of its appearance in unexpectedly unfavorable conditions.
The findings suggest that interesting things can happen far from the star. If they are possible on Pluto, in cold and darkness, then the building blocks of life can develop anywhere.
Pluto was a living planet
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