Pluto is a dwarf planet that is all ice — a big great ball of ice. This is due to its location from the sun, so don't expect it to melt and have huge oceans any time soon. Still, we have to wonder if Pluto is in any way capable of hosting life, especially aquatic life.
Researchers have long wondered if the little dwarf planet could be the home for some form of life. It's almost difficult, but not entirely impossible according to some. We're not talking about human-level type of lifeforms here, but mainly anything else that could survive at Pluto's low and freezing temperatures.
A new study published a month ago, claims that Pluto could be the home to aquatic lifeforms within its subsurface oceans. Apparently, ammonia could be found in Pluto's subsurface oceans, and could possibly conceive life on the planet. Now, not everyone believes ammonia is concussive for life of Earth, however, it could be on other planets.
"New Horizons has detected ammonia as a compound on Pluto's big moon, Charon, and on one of Pluto's small moons. So it's almost certainly inside Pluto. What I think is down there in the ocean is rather noxious, very cold, salty and very ammonia-rich - almost a syrup," said William McKinnon, co-author of the study.
Now, we should point out that Pluto is no place for fishes, germs or even bacteria to survive, but that doesn't mean some weird lifeforms couldn't exist on the planet.
How Did Researchers Collect Data?
According to the report, they used information collected from the New Horizon spacecraft that did a Pluto flyby in the past. Images taken via New Horizon show evidence of what appears to be subsurface oceans. Furthermore, data collected could also prove that Pluto is expanding instead of contracting as once believed.
The expansion could be due to subsurface oceans, but there's no hard evidence to prove whether or not this theory is real.
It should be noted that oceans on other planets such as Pluto should not be viewed as oceans on Earth. These oceans likely consist of liquid methane, ammonia, or nitrogen instead of regular water. It simply means regular sea life will never thrive on Pluto or any other alien world similar to it.
What many researchers want to understand, is how the oceans below Pluto's surface ice affects the dwarf planet. Furthermore, a new insight shows how the planet's icy heart came to be.
