Although Pluto might be small and was officially kicked out of the “planet club,” it still has quite a lot of activity taking place on its tiny surface. New photos transmitted back to NASA have shown two ice-spewing volcanos on the surface of Pluto, baffling scientists. NASA first made a record pass by Pluto on July 14th with the New Horizon’s Spacecraft, which is still continuing to transmit photos back to those involved in the project. Among the pictures the Spacecraft is expected to report back before the week is over, one of the most interesting shows two mountains which each measure 100 miles in diameter and are several miles tall.
However, instead of spewing lava, these mountains release ice and other frozen materials such as nitrogen, ammonia, and methane. Scientists report having never seen anything like this in our outer solar system and are still investigating how these mountains and other depressions on the planet’s surface were created. The New Horizon’s Spacecraft is expected to transmit even more information about the volcanoes, including measurements and additional pictures. So even though Pluto didn’t quite make the cut to be a planet, it seems it will still be a major topic in science circles everywhere.