//www.koonmotors.com/news/space_time/pluto/ Dwarf Planet Pluto News. See images and read science articles on Pluto, Eris and other Kuiper Belt objects. en-us Sun, 10 Sep 2023 22:50:04 EDT Sun, 10 Sep 2023 22:50:04 EDT 60 //www.koonmotors.com/images/scidaily-logo-rss.png//www.koonmotors.com/news/space_time/pluto/ For more science news, visit ScienceDaily. //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/02/230207144210.htm In 2015, when NASA's New Horizons spacecraft encountered the Pluto-Charon system, scientists discovered interesting, geologically active objects instead of the inert icy orbs previously envisioned. Scientists have revisited the 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 cryovolcanoes erupting with ice, water and other materials in its northern hemisphere. Tue, 07 Feb 2023 14:42:10 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2023/02/230207144210.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2022/12/221209135557.htm Imagine walking into a room at night, turning out all the lights and closing the shades. Yet an eerie glow comes from the walls, ceiling, and floor. The faint light is barely enough to see your hands before your face, but it persists. Sounds like a scene out of a scary movie?" No, for astronomers this is the real deal. But looking for something that's close to nothing is not easy. Fri, 09 Dec 2022 13:55:57 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2022/12/221209135557.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2022/06/220621105647.htm Scientists combined data from NASA's New Horizons mission with novel laboratory experiments and exospheric modeling to reveal the likely composition of the red cap on Pluto's moon Charon and how it may have formed. This first-ever description of Charon's dynamic methane atmosphere using new experimental data provides a fascinating glimpse into the origins of this moon's red spot as described in two recent articles. Tue, 21 Jun 2022 10:56:47 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2022/06/220621105647.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2021/12/211215132646.htm Scientists have unraveled a fascinating new insight into how the landscape of the dwarf-planet Pluto has formed. Wed, 15 Dec 2021 13:26:46 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2021/12/211215132646.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2021/10/211004140252.htm When Pluto passed in front of a star on the night of August 15, 2018, astronomers deployed telescopes at numerous sites in the U.S. and Mexico to observe Pluto's atmosphere as it was briefly backlit by the well-placed star. Scientists used this occultation event to measure the overall abundance of Pluto's tenuous atmosphere and found compelling evidence that it is beginning to disappear, refreezing back onto its surface as it moves farther away from the Sun. Mon, 04 Oct 2021 14:02:52 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2021/10/211004140252.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2021/01/210119102853.htm Scientists develop theoretical models to predict the presence of clathrate hydrates outside Earth, shedding light on the evolution of other atmospheres. Tue, 19 Jan 2021 10:28:53 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2021/01/210119102853.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2020/10/201029115802.htm New work reveals the likely original locations of Saturn and Jupiter. These findings refine our understanding of the forces that determined our Solar System's unusual architecture, including the ejection of an additional planet between Saturn and Uranus, ensuring that only small, rocky planets, like Earth, formed inward of Jupiter. Thu, 29 Oct 2020 11:58:02 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2020/10/201029115802.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2020/10/201013134310.htm In 2015, the New Horizons space probe discovered spectacular snowcapped mountains on Pluto, which are strikingly similar to mountains on Earth. Such a landscape had never before been observed elsewhere in the Solar System. Scientists determined that the methane snow could only appear at the peaks of Pluto's mountains high enough to reach this enriched zone that the air contains enough methane for it to condense. Tue, 13 Oct 2020 13:43:10 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2020/10/201013134310.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2020/06/200622132959.htm A new study suggests that Pluto and other large Kuiper belt objects started out with liquid oceans which have been slowly freezing over time. Mon, 22 Jun 2020 13:29:59 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2020/06/200622132959.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2020/02/200204112548.htm A 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen controls Pluto's winds and may give rise to features on its surface, according to a new study. Tue, 04 Feb 2020 11:25:48 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2020/02/200204112548.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/12/191202102033.htm Measurements taken by the Solar Wind Around Pluto (SWAP) instrument aboard NASA's New Horizons spacecraft are providing important new insights from some of the farthest reaches of space ever explored. Astronomers now show how the solar wind -- the supersonic stream of charged particles blown out by the Sun -- evolves at increasing distances from the Sun. Mon, 02 Dec 2019 10:20:33 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/12/191202102033.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/10/191028164353.htm Astronomers using ESO's SPHERE instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) have revealed that the asteroid Hygiea could be classified as a dwarf planet. The object is the fourth largest in the asteroid belt after Ceres, Vesta and Pallas. For the first time, astronomers have observed Hygiea in sufficiently high resolution to study its surface and determine its shape and size. They found that Hygiea is spherical, potentially taking the crown from Ceres as the smallest dwarf planet in the solar system. Mon, 28 Oct 2019 16:43:53 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/10/191028164353.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/06/190625093312.htm Beyond the orbit of the planet Neptune, there are a multitude of icy and rocky small bodies, smaller than planets but larger than comets. These likely formed at the same time as the Solar System, and understanding their origin could provide important clues as to how the entire Solar System originated. Using sophisticated computer simulations and observations of TNOs, astronomers have shown how these so-called trans-Neptunian Objects (or TNOs) may have formed. Tue, 25 Jun 2019 09:33:12 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/06/190625093312.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/05/190522141752.htm Astronomers using the Gemini Observatory explore Neptune's largest moon Triton and observe, for the first time beyond the lab, an extraordinary union between carbon monoxide and nitrogen ices. The discovery offers insights into how this volatile mixture can transport material across the moon's surface via geysers, trigger seasonal atmospheric changes, and provide a context for conditions on other distant, icy worlds. Wed, 22 May 2019 14:17:52 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/05/190522141752.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/05/190520115657.htm Computer simulations provide compelling evidence that an insulating layer of gas hydrates could keep a subsurface ocean from freezing beneath Pluto's icy exterior. Mon, 20 May 2019 11:56:57 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/05/190520115657.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/02/190228141252.htm Using New Horizons data from the Pluto-Charon flyby in 2015, scientists have indirectly discovered a distinct and surprising lack of very small objects in the Kuiper Belt. The evidence for the paucity of small Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) comes from New Horizons imaging that revealed a dearth of small craters on Pluto's largest satellite, Charon, indicating that impactors from 300 feet to 1 mile (91 meters to 1.6 km) in diameter must also be rare. Thu, 28 Feb 2019 14:12:52 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/02/190228141252.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/01/190128111721.htm For the first time ever, astronomers have detected a 1.3 km radius body at the edge of the Solar System. Kilometer sized bodies like the one discovered have been predicted to exist for more than 70 years. These objects acted as an important step in the planet formation process between small initial amalgamations of dust and ice and the planets we see today. Mon, 28 Jan 2019 11:17:21 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/01/190128111721.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/01/190103111111.htm Data from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which explored Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule earlier this week, is yielding scientific discoveries daily. Thu, 03 Jan 2019 11:11:11 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/01/190103111111.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/01/190102164307.htm Scientists from NASA's New Horizons mission released the first detailed images of the most distant object ever explored -- the Kuiper Belt object nicknamed Ultima Thule. Its remarkable appearance, unlike anything we've seen before, illuminates the processes that built the planets four and a half billion years ago. Wed, 02 Jan 2019 16:43:07 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/01/190102164307.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/01/190101130547.htm NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past Ultima Thule in the early hours of New Year's Day, ushering in the era of exploration from the enigmatic Kuiper Belt, a region of primordial objects that holds keys to understanding the origins of the solar system. Tue, 01 Jan 2019 13:05:47 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2019/01/190101130547.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/12/181231111111.htm Only hours from completing a historic flyby of Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69, nicknamed Ultima Thule, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is on course and ready to gather scientific data on the small object's geology, composition, atmosphere and more. Closest approach takes place in the early morning hours of New Year's Day -- 12:33 a.m. EST -- marking the event as the most distant exploration of worlds ever completed by humankind. Mon, 31 Dec 2018 11:11:11 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/12/181231111111.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/12/181227152745.htm NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is set to fly by a target nicknamed 'Ultima Thule,' 4 billion miles from the Sun, on New Year's Day 2019. No spacecraft has ever explored such a distant world. Thu, 27 Dec 2018 15:27:45 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/12/181227152745.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/11/181119155959.htm Forget those shepherding moons. Gravity and the odd shapes of asteroid Chariklo and dwarf planet Haumea -- small objects deep in our solar system -- can be credited for forming and maintaining their own rings, according new research. Mon, 19 Nov 2018 15:59:59 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/11/181119155959.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/10/181024163636.htm Astronomers have made several discoveries that expand the range and value of a future Pluto orbiter mission. The breakthroughs define a fuel-saving orbital tour and demonstrate that an orbiter can continue exploration in the Kuiper Belt after surveying Pluto. Wed, 24 Oct 2018 16:36:36 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/10/181024163636.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/10/181003142931.htm 寻找遥远的世界,研究人员dentified an exomoon candidate around the transiting exoplanet Kepler-1625b that indicates the presence of a previously unknown gas-giant moon. Wed, 03 Oct 2018 14:29:31 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/10/181003142931.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/10/181002102908.htm Astronomers have discovered a new extremely distant object far beyond Pluto with an orbit that supports the presence of an even-farther-out, Super-Earth or larger Planet X. Tue, 02 Oct 2018 10:29:08 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/10/181002102908.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/09/180907110422.htm The reason Pluto lost its planet status is not valid, according to new research. Fri, 07 Sep 2018 11:04:22 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/09/180907110422.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/07/180717101256.htm Twelve new moons orbiting Jupiter have been found -- 11 'normal' outer moons, and one that they're calling an 'oddball.' Astronomers first spotted the moons in the spring of 2017 while they were looking for very distant solar system objects as part of the hunt for a possible massive planet far beyond Pluto. Tue, 17 Jul 2018 10:12:56 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/07/180717101256.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/05/180531142726.htm Scientists have discovered dunes on Pluto, and say they are likely to have been formed of methane ice grains released into its rarefied atmosphere. Thu, 31 May 2018 14:27:26 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/05/180531142726.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/05/180525095412.htm Scientists integrated NASA's New Horizons discoveries with data from ESA's Rosetta mission to develop a new theory about how Pluto may have formed at the edge of our solar system. Fri, 25 May 2018 09:54:12 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/05/180525095412.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/04/180412102856.htm Legendary explorers and visionaries, real and fictitious, are among those immortalized by the IAU in the first set of official surface-feature names for Pluto's largest moon, Charon. Thu, 12 Apr 2018 10:28:56 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2018/04/180412102856.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/11/171115130940.htm The gas composition of a planet's atmosphere generally determines how much heat gets trapped in the atmosphere. For the dwarf planet Pluto, however, the predicted temperature based on the composition of its atmosphere was much higher than actual measurements taken by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft in 2015. A new study proposes a novel cooling mechanism controlled by haze particles to account for Pluto's frigid atmosphere. Wed, 15 Nov 2017 13:09:40 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/11/171115130940.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/10/171012093350.htm The trans-neptunian belt contains four dwarf planets, among which Haumea stands out for its extremely elongated shape and rapid rotation. A stellar occultation makes it possible to establish the main physical characteristics of this previously little known body -- among which most surprising was the presence of a ring. Thu, 12 Oct 2017 09:33:50 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/10/171012093350.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/09/170928152436.htm NASA's New Horizons mission revolutionized our knowledge of Pluto when it flew past that distant world in July 2015. Among its many discoveries were images of strange formations resembling giant knife blades of ice, whose origin had remained a mystery. Now, scientists have turned up a fascinating explanation for this "bladed terrain": the structures are made almost entirely of methane ice, and likely formed as a specific kind of erosion wore away their surfaces. Thu, 28 Sep 2017 15:24:36 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/09/170928152436.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/09/170907112411.htm The Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union has officially approved the naming of 14 features on the surface of Pluto. These are the first geological features on the planet to be named following the close flyby by the New Horizons spacecraft in July 2015. Thu, 07 Sep 2017 11:24:11 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/09/170907112411.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/08/170823122141.htm The Dragonfly mission concept would use an instrumented, radioisotope-powered, dual-quadcopter to explore Saturn's largest moon, Titan, one of our solar system’s “ocean worlds.” Wed, 23 Aug 2017 12:21:41 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/08/170823122141.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/05/170523081957.htm In the icy bodies around our solar system, radiation emitted from rocky cores could break up water molecules and support hydrogen-eating microbes. To address this cosmic possibility, a team modeled a natural water-cracking process called radiolysis. They then applied the model to several worlds with known or suspected interior oceans, including Saturn's moon Enceladus, Jupiter's moon Europa, Pluto and its moon Charon, as well as the dwarf planet Ceres. Tue, 23 May 2017 08:19:57 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/05/170523081957.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/05/170518140249.htm 天文学家已经发现了一个月亮绕着这个rd largest dwarf planet, 2007 OR10, in the frigid outskirts of our solar system called the Kuiper Belt. Thu, 18 May 2017 14:02:49 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/05/170518140249.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/04/170412115749.htm Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have revealed extraordinary details about a recently discovered far-flung member of our solar system, the planetary body 2014 UZ224, more informally known as DeeDee. Wed, 12 Apr 2017 11:57:49 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/04/170412115749.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/03/170317131205.htm Kirby Runyon wants to make one thing clear: regardless of what one prestigious scientific organization says to the contrary, Pluto is a planet. So, he says, is Europa, commonly known as a moon of Jupiter, and so is the Earth's moon, and so are more than 100 other celestial bodies in our solar system that are denied this status under the prevailing definition of 'planet.' Fri, 17 Mar 2017 13:12:05 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/03/170317131205.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/02/170223114747.htm The New Horizons flyby of Pluto and its satellites returned a scientific treasure trove of information about these distant and surprisingly complex worlds, showing a vast nitrogen glacier as well as ice mountains, canyons, cliffs, craters and more. Now the categories for official names have been approved and the name proposals can be submitted by the New Horizons team. Thu, 23 Feb 2017 11:47:47 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/02/170223114747.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/02/170221120816.htm The dynamical properties of these asteroids, observed spectroscopiccally for the first time using the Gran Telescopio CANARIAS, suggest a possible common origin and give a clue to the existence of a planet beyond Pluto, the so-called 'Planet Nine.' Tue, 21 Feb 2017 12:08:16 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/02/170221120816.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/01/170109162342.htm A new study provides additional insight into relationship between Pluto and its moon, Charon, and how it affects the continuous stripping of Pluto's atmosphere by solar wind. When Charon is positioned between the sun and Pluto, the research indicates that the moon can significantly reduce atmospheric loss. Mon, 09 Jan 2017 16:23:42 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/01/170109162342.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/01/170104154341.htm 使用一个模型类似于气象学家使用to forecast weather on Earth and a computer simulation of the physics of evaporating ices, a new study has found evidence that snow and ice features previously only seen on Earth, have been spotted on Pluto. Wed, 04 Jan 2017 15:43:41 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2017/01/170104154341.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/11/161130133750.htm Pluto's "icy heart" is a bright, two-lobed feature on its surface that has attracted researchers ever since its discovery by the NASA New Horizons team in 2015. Of particular interest is the heart's western lobe, informally named Sputnik Planitia, a deep basin containing three kinds of ices--frozen nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide--and appearing opposite Charon, Pluto's tidally locked moon. Sputnik Planitia's unique attributes have spurred a number of scenarios for its formation, all of which identify the feature as an impact basin, a depression created by a smaller body striking Pluto at extremely high speed. Wed, 30 Nov 2016 13:37:50 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/11/161130133750.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/11/161116141323.htm A liquid ocean lying deep beneath Pluto's frozen surface is the best explanation for features revealed by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, according to a new analysis. The idea that Pluto has a subsurface ocean is not new, but the study provides the most detailed investigation yet of its likely role in the evolution of key features such as the vast, low-lying plain known as Sputnik Planitia (formerly Sputnik Planum). Wed, 16 Nov 2016 14:13:23 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/11/161116141323.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/11/161116140553.htm New research by planetary scientists reveals fascinating clues about Pluto, suggesting the small world at the fringes of our solar system is much more active than anyone ever imagined. Wed, 16 Nov 2016 14:05:53 EST //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/11/161116140553.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/10/161027115741.htm NASA's New Horizons mission reached a major milestone this week when the last bits of science data from the Pluto flyby -- stored on the spacecraft's digital recorders since July 2015 -- arrived safely on Earth. Thu, 27 Oct 2016 11:57:41 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/10/161027115741.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/10/161019101727.htm Stern said that Pluto's complex, layered atmosphere is hazy and appears to be mostly free of clouds, but the team has spied a handful of potential clouds in images taken with New Horizons' cameras. "If there are clouds, it would mean the weather on Pluto is even more complex than we imagined," Stern said. Wed, 19 Oct 2016 10:17:27 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/10/161019101727.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/10/161005131031.htm A subsurface ocean lies deep within Saturn's moon Dione, according to new data from the Cassini mission to Saturn. Two other moons of Saturn, Titan and Enceladus, are already known to hide global oceans beneath their icy crusts, but a new study suggests an ocean exists on Dione as well. Wed, 05 Oct 2016 13:10:31 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/10/161005131031.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/09/160924222428.htm Ever since NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto last year, evidence has been mounting that the dwarf planet may have a liquid ocean beneath its icy shell. Now, by modeling the impact dynamics that created a massive crater on Pluto's surface, a team of researchers has made a new estimate of how thick that liquid layer might be. Sat, 24 Sep 2016 22:24:28 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/09/160924222428.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/09/160919130711.htm What is the origin of the large heart-shaped nitrogen glacier revealed in 2015 on Pluto by the New Horizons spacecraft? Astronomers show that Pluto's peculiar insolation and atmosphere favor nitrogen condensation near the equator, in the lower altitude regions, leading to an accumulation of ice at the bottom of Sputnik Planum, a vast topographic basin. Through their simulations, they also explain the surface distribution and atmospheric abundance of other types of volatiles observed on Pluto. Mon, 19 Sep 2016 13:07:11 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/09/160919130711.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/09/160914150515.htm 科学家们利用美国宇航局的钱德拉x射线天文台have made the first detections of X-rays from Pluto. These observations offer new insight into the space environment surrounding the largest and best-known object in the solar system's outermost regions. Wed, 14 Sep 2016 15:05:15 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/09/160914150515.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/09/160914145849.htm In June 2015, when the cameras on NASA's approaching New Horizons spacecraft first spotted the large reddish polar region on Pluto's largest moon, Charon, mission scientists knew two things: they'd never seen anything like it elsewhere in our solar system, and they couldn't wait to get the story behind it. Over the past year, the scientists think they've solved the mystery. Wed, 14 Sep 2016 14:58:49 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/09/160914145849.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/08/160829093242.htm In the race to discover a proposed ninth planet in our Solar System, researchers have observed several never-before-seen objects at extreme distances from the Sun in our Solar System. Mon, 29 Aug 2016 09:32:42 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/08/160829093242.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/07/160711150825.htm Astronomers have discovered a new dwarf planet orbiting in the disk of small icy worlds beyond Neptune. The new object is about 700 km in diameter and has one of the largest orbits for a dwarf planet. Designated 2015 RR245 by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center, it was found using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Maunakea, Hawaii, as part of the ongoing Outer Solar System Origins Survey (OSSOS). Mon, 11 Jul 2016 15:08:25 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/07/160711150825.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/06/160630102324.htm Astronomers are using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study auroras -- stunning light shows in a planet's atmosphere -- on the poles of the largest planet in the Solar System, Jupiter. Thu, 30 Jun 2016 10:23:24 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/06/160630102324.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/06/160627214421.htm Scientists have discovered an elusive, dark moon orbiting Makemake, one of the 'big four' dwarf planets populating the Kuiper Belt region at the edge of our solar system. Mon, 27 Jun 2016 21:44:21 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/06/160627214421.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/06/160621132532.htm An updated thermal model for Pluto suggests that a liquid water ocean beneath the dwarf planet's ice shell is a fairly likely scenario, and that the ocean is probably still there today. Tue, 21 Jun 2016 13:25:32 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/06/160621132532.htm //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/06/160606095533.htm Using computer models, New Horizons team members have been able to determine the depth of the layer of solid nitrogen ice within Pluto's distinctive 'heart' feature -- a large plain informally known as Sputnik Planum -- and how fast that ice is flowing. Mon, 06 Jun 2016 09:55:33 EDT //www.koonmotors.com/releases/2016/06/160606095533.htm