NASA's first, educated guess, but it will likely hold up. Ice mountains being pushed up from below, probably from an icy mantel, and, below that, an ocean that is being heated in some way, and a rocky core (hot? maybe).
These are just stupendous findings! They not only throw into question the geology of many of the solar system's moons, as understood thus far, but it once again illustrates that water is everywhere, in our solar system, in our galaxy and in the Universe.
And where there is water, and especially water being heated, life is possible. What is heating the water of Pluto's under-ice ocean? They don't know. Does it have volcanic eruptions, geysers or other phenomena? They're going to look for these now.
The ice moons of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune also have active geological features, which have been attributed to the tidal pull of the big planets, creating friction and heat. I've read this time and again in articles about these moons. This hypothesis has been, if not entirely overturned, must be completely re-thought. As NASA's chief science investigator Alan Stern said, it is simply NOT true of Pluto. Back to square one on icy planets and moons.
Pluto does NOT have a giant planet pulling it to and fro--yet it is clearly very, very active (not a single crater in this high-res photo, meaning that Pluto's geological activity is swallowing the craters, putting new features over them). Pluto has numerous active features, creating a feast for geologists, climatologists, astrophysicists and others for years to come. The ecstatic grins on the bleary-eyed faces of the Pluto-Charon team said it all. They couldn't stop smiling.
This is only the beginning. The high-res of Pluto released today was of only a 150 mile area. They're going to have high-res (and even higher-res) of the entire sunside of the planet (and lesser res of the dark side). And the same of Pluto's moon Charon, which is also dazzling the scientists. PLUS all the other science that New Horizons successfully conducted on its flyby (spectra, atmosphere, etc.)
On the political side, we need to get this amazing science team further funding to complete the New Horizons mission (into the Kuiper Belt). They are just too good not to be funded! NASA has always boosted our spirits, as a country, when things have been bad, as they often have been over the last three and a half decades (since that horror, Ronald Reagan). We owe them not only for the amazing science and exploration missions they have conducted, often on very limited budgets (like this one), but also for the sheer joy of seeing what human beings at their best can do. They are showing the way, for all of us, but especially for young people, as to what intelligence, cooperation and the highest of goals can accomplish. We can save our own beautiful planet with this spirit. We can ensure a good life and justice for all. We CAN do these things. That is the spirit of NASA.
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