Sputnik Planitia Archives

Pluto’s northern Sputnik Planitia glacier (in the western or left side of Pluto’s brightheart) is shown here in a color mosaic made from NASA’s New Horizons imagery. The direction of north is shown on the image. The image is ~ 700 x 350 kilometers across. The red box has been added to show most of the region containing dark features attributed to the wetting of the glacier by liquid nitrogen sourced from a “basal melting” process beneath the glacier. NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/SwRI Larger image

New Horizons Finds Evidence Of Recent Liquid On Pluto’s Surface

by Keith CowingAugust 5, 2026August 5, 2026

[NASA] “Pluto never stops surprising us,” said Alan Stern, principal investigator of New Horizons and lead study author from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. “In addition to suggesting […]

The northern and eastern portions of Sputnik Planitia (SP)

Pluto

Evidence For Possible N2 Basal Flow Beneath Pluto Northern Sputnik Planitia

by Keith CowingJune 30, 2026June 30, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] Sputnik Planitia (SP) on Pluto is a large, predominantly N2 ice-filled basin with a surface area of one million square kilometers; it is among the most spectacular surface features […]