In the inner Solar System , the bad volcano we know of isOlympus Monson Mars , 624 km ( 374 miles ) across and 25 kilometers ( 16 Swedish mile ) gamy . But what about in the outer Solar System ?
Well , that record might now belong to Pluto . If a characteristic known asWright Monson this dwarf planet is affirm as a vent , it will take the title of the bounteous such feature beyond Mars .
cite in honor of the Wright pal , this monumental ice structure can be seen circled by the red mob in the novel simulacrum above . It is 150 km ( 90 miles ) wide and 4 kilometers ( 2.5 mil ) high and seem to have volcano - same features , including a fundamental low that resembles a volcanic volcanic crater .
This image was returned by the New Horizons spaceraft , part of the on-going data that is being generate after the flyby onJuly 14 , 2015 . Taken by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager ( LORRI ) from a distance of 48,000 kilometers ( 30,000 miles ) , it shows features as low as 450 meters ( 1,500 feet ) across .
colour data was provided by the Ralph / Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera ( MVIC ) , obtained from a aloofness of 34,000 kilometers ( 21,000 mile ) .
Wright Mons is situate near to a with child smooth region called Sputnik Planum . NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI
One intriguing unreciprocated question is why there is only a handful of red material – known astholins – in the neighborhood . In gain , a lack of wallop crater suggests that this airfoil is relatively young , entail it has changed in the last few million year , possibly due to Wright Mons being active in Pluto ’s tardy history . Wright Mons also has similarities to another theorized cryovolcano ( ice-skating rink vent ) on Pluto , Piccard Mons , which is slightly higher at 6 klick ( 3.5 miles ) .
“ We ’re not yet quick to annunciate we have found volcanic constructs at Pluto , but these sure appear suspicious , and we ’re looking at them very closely , ” said Jeff Moore , a planetary scientist at NASA ’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field , California , who heads the New Horizons geology team , when the structures were first studiedlast year .
If they are corroborate to be volcano that were active comparatively recently , it would mean that Pluto likely has some sort of internal heating system root . The cause of this is not known , but it could be the radioactive radioactive decay of elements that remain from Pluto ’s birth .
