Planetary Radio • Oct 30, 2024
Splat or subsurface ocean? The mysterious positioning of Pluto’s heart
On This Episode
Adeene Denton
Research Scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona
Bruce Betts
Chief Scientist / LightSail Program Manager for The Planetary Society
Sarah Al-Ahmed
Planetary Radio Host and Producer for The Planetary Society
This week, we investigate the mysteries of Pluto's iconic heart-shaped feature. We explore recent research on the origins of the Sputnik Planitia region and what it can tell us about whether or not the dwarf planet has a subsurface ocean. Our guest, Adeene Denton from the University of Arizona, discusses her team's work investigating oblique impact basins, or "splats," and their implications for planetary formation. Then Bruce Betts, chief scientist at The Planetary Society, joins host Sarah Al-Ahmed for a roundup of the most significant impacts in our Solar System in What's Up.
Related Links
- Meet Adeene Denton
- Sputnik Planitia as an impactor remnant indicative of an ancient rocky mascon in an oceanless Pluto - Nature Astronomy
- Pluto, the Kuiper Belt’s most famous dwarf planet
- New Horizons, exploring Pluto and the Kuiper Belt
- How JWST will reveal our Solar System beyond Neptune
- Buy a Planetary Radio T-Shirt
- The Planetary Society shop
- The Night Sky
- The Downlink