(FOLLOWING JOINT PRESS RELEASE WAS ISSUED BY HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY.)

[PRESS RELEASE]

Source: Hokkaido University and Tokyo Institute of Technology

Date: 21 May 2019

A gassy insulating layer beneath the icy surfaces of distant celestial objects could mean there are more oceans in the universe than previously thought.

Computer simulations provide compelling evidence that an insulating layer of gas hydrates could keep a subsurface ocean from freezing beneath Pluto's icy exterior, according to a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Read more: https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/hu-gic051719.php

The bright 'heart' on Pluto is located near the equator. Its left half is a big basin dubbed Sputnik Planitia.
Figures created using images by NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute.
Image credit: Figures created using images by NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute.