Liquid may have recently flowed across Pluto's surface
On August 5, 2026, a Southwest Research Institute team reported the first evidence that liquid still flows on Pluto, on a nitrogen glacier called Sputnik Planitia, which is larger than Texas and Oklahoma combined. Rain is impossible there. Dark streaks near the glacier's northern edge look freshly wetted, most likely by liquid nitrogen rising up through cracks in the surface. Lead author Alan Stern said, "Pluto never stops surprising us, and this new result certainly does that." The findings, drawn from New Horizons images taken in 2015 and 2016, appear in the Planetary Science Journal.
Planetary scientists studying icy worlds beyond Earth now have a working model for how alien surfaces can stay active without sunlight or rain.
Source: SwRI study finds evidence of liquid recently flowing on Pluto’s surface | Southwest Research Institute (swri.org).
Written by the HappyGood desk from the primary source linked above and checked against it. Every story links its source. Corrections: [email protected].
More from the archive
- Assam teenager wins gold at National Karate Championship days after floods September 19, 2026
- EverDye develops pigments that could cut fabric dyeing energy tenfold September 19, 2026
- Teeth from Thomas the T. rex reveal a human-like body temperature September 19, 2026
- Jim Al-Khalili to take on time in the 2026 Christmas Lectures September 19, 2026
- Kenyan mango grower turns to integrated pest management after moth infestation September 18, 2026