How Pluto got its 'heart'

April 15, 2024
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This artist's illustration shows the impact of Pluto by another large body.

The mystery of how Pluto got a giant heart-shaped feature on its surface has finally been solved by an international team of astrophysicists. According to simulations, a collision between Pluto and a planetary body that happened relatively slowly and at an oblique angle left the impactor "splatted" onto Pluto's surface. The findings also cast doubt on the existence of a subsurface ocean on Pluto, as was previously speculated.

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