Posted on 10/08/2015 11:20:25 AM PDT by Red Badger
NASA has discovered frozen water and earth-like blue skies on Pluto in another historic development in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Just 10 days after confirming that liquid water has been found on Mars, the US space agency revealed the amazing dwarf-planet has both ice and a 'gorgeous' blue sky.
A Nasa spokesman said: "New Horizons has detected numerous small, exposed regions of water ice on Pluto.
"The discovery was made from data collected by the Ralph spectral composition mapper on New Horizons."
There has been repeated speculation Pluto may have a liquid sea under its surface, and confirmation of water ice on the surface adds to this theory.
Amazingly, much of the frozen ice has been found in a deep crack running from an interesting crater on Pluto first highlighted to Nasa by Express.co.uk as a potentially interesting feature back in July when images first beamed back.
At the time New Horizons planetary scientist David Grinspoon said it could be an eroded asteroid or comet impact crater and tectonic lines, hinting that the dwarf planet may still be geologically active.
Pluto’s haze layer shows its blue color in this picture taken by the New Horizons [EPA]
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Now Nasa has informally named the distinctive crater that appears to have a peak and a letter C shape within it the Eliott Crater and the faults running away from it Virgil Fossa.
A new image released today shows a 280 miles across section showing hwere water was found.
A spokesman said: "The strongest signatures of water ice occur along Virgil Fossa, just west of Elliot crater on the left side of the inset image, and also in Viking Terra near the top of the frame.
"A major outcrop also occurs in Baré Montes towards the right of the image, along with numerous much smaller outcrops, mostly associated with impact craters and valleys between mountains."
Alan Stern, Nasa New Horizons principal investigator, from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), Boulder, Colorado, said: "Who would have expected a blue sky in the Kuiper Belt? It’s gorgeous.”
The haze particles themselves are likely grey or red, but the way they scatter blue light has drawn the attention of the New Horizons science team.
I like to watch those nature shows because I love God's creation. The narrator always intimates that the being decided to evolve itself and created its own action, makes me wanna throw something at the TV.
I usually mute it so I can enjoy the view of the beautiful creatures without the innuendo.
I couldn’t agree more.
It is quite funny how rationalists who ignore God work so hard to define convoluted statements and not use anything resembling a rational explanation.
>>Besides, a strong argument can be made that microbial life can be spread throughout a solar system from the place it originally evolved via asteroid impacts and debris.
<<
So now we have to subsidize condoms for slutty asteroids?
>>They keep searching - hoping that they can prove that there is no God.<<
Huh? Finding life on another planet would bring up some extremely interesting and intense theological issues but would BUTTRESS more than deny an argument for God.
Define “proper use of a period in quotes.”
Please do not use “Grammar Nazi” in said definition.
Thanks for the correction.
Mid-February. I thought my ears could break off....and they were under my hair and hat!
That’s all I really care about. Bring back Pluto as a planet!
Yea, but maybe conditions on Pluto are just right for life on Pluto.
I intentionally followed the example given.
Amazing book. I pored over it extensively when I was a kid.
Except we can’t go to Europa. Or at least if we do, folks will just get eaten by the glow-in-the-dark squids.
My guess is that it is likely the result of your liberal arts education. lol
However, the rationalists have to prove the Bible wrong. And every search that has ended in "no life" just sticks in their craw.
Says the ignoramus who denies obvious evidence of water on Earth's moon. Did your science education end in 1971? If so, you should try picking up a book or two.
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