Models explain canyons on Pluto's large moon Charon - Phys.org
An SwRI scientist has revisited New Horizons data to explore the source of cryovolcanic flows and an obvious belt of fractures on Pluto's large moon Charon.
These new models suggest that when the moon's internal ocean froze, it may have formed the deep, elongated depressions along its girth but was less likely to lead to cryovolcanos erupting with ice, water and other materials in its northern hemisphere.In 2015, when NASA's New Horizons spacecraft encountered the Pluto-Charon system, the Southwest Research Institute-led science team discovered interesting, geologically active objects instead of the inert icy orbs previously envisioned.These new models suggest that when the moon's internal ocean froze, it may have formed the deep, elongated depressions along its girth but was less likely to lead to cryovolcanoes erupting with ice, water and other materials in its northern hemisphere.Models sought to identify the conditions that could create fractures that fully penetrate Charon's icy shell, linking its surface and subsurface water to allow ocean-sourced cryovolcanism.Fractures in the ice shell may be the initiation points of these canyons along the global tectonic belt of ridges that traverse the face of Charon, separating the northern and southern geological regions of the moon.