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Nitrogen Ice

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Scientists classify 'Oumuamua' as a new 'exo-Pluto' object

Originally Published 4 months ago — by Space

Featured image for Scientists classify 'Oumuamua' as a new 'exo-Pluto' object
Source: Space

Research suggests that 'Oumuamua, the first known interstellar visitor, may be a fragment of an icy exoplanet similar to Pluto, composed mainly of nitrogen ice, and represents a new class of celestial objects called 'exo-Plutos,' indicating such objects might be more common than previously thought.

"The Violent Origins of Pluto's Mysterious Heart Revealed by Astrophysicists"

Originally Published 1 year ago — by Livescience.com

Featured image for "The Violent Origins of Pluto's Mysterious Heart Revealed by Astrophysicists"
Source: Livescience.com

A new study suggests that the heart-shaped formation on Pluto's surface, known as Tombaugh Regio, was likely formed in a slow-motion, glancing collision with an icy rock wider than Kansas is long. Using computer simulations, researchers determined that the impact likely originated from an oblique collision, leading to its elongated shape, and did not result in the melting of Pluto's icy core. The study also suggests that Pluto's heart does not require a subsurface ocean to explain its position near the equator.