Pluto could have a liquid ocean hiding underneath a shell of nitrogen ice

• • Scientists think Pluto has liquid oceans under a shell of nitrogen ice.
  • An ocean would be possible due to a layer of gas that exists underneath the ice and above the ocean.
  • The gas acts as a barrier, insulating the two from each other.
  • Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

The Solar System might be a soggier place than we previously thought - even in the glacially cold reaches of the Kuiper Belt. There, dwarf planet Pluto could be harboring liquid oceans under a shell of nitrogen ice.

It was thought that the temperature required to maintain a liquid ocean on Pluto was too high for the thick ice to remain unmelted, but Japanese astronomers have found a new possibility: A layer of gas under the ice and above the liquid, insulating the two from each other, and allowing them to coexist.See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: The rise and fall of Donald Trump's $365 million airline

See Also:

• Scientists developed a light-activated bio-glue that can seal a heart wound in seconds
• NASA will send a female astronaut on the 2024 moon mission
• This chilling simulation shows what a measles outbreak could do in your city