Astronomers believe a planetary body collided with Pluto early in its history to create a gigantic heart-shaped feature on the dwarf planet.
A huge heart-shaped feature on the surface of Pluto has intrigued astronomers since NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured it in a 2015 image. Now, researchers think they have solved the mystery of how the distinctive heart came to be — and it could reveal new clues about the dwarf planet’s origins. The feature is called Tombaugh Regio in honor of astronomer Clybe Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930. But the heart is not all one element, scientists say.
The teardrop shape of Sputnik Planitia is a result of the frigidity of Pluto’s core, as well as the relatively low velocity of the impact itself, the team found. Other types of faster and more direct impacts would have created a more symmetrical shape. “We are used to thinking of planetary collisions as incredibly intense events where you can ignore the details except for things like energy, momentum and density.
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