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Saturday, December 3, 2016

Life on Pluto? MacKinnon says 'No'

Is there life on Pluto?

Some scientists think it could happen.

Recent research into Pluto reveals there is a subsurface ocean beneath the planet's "sputnick planitia." The planet is very cold so the life that is suspected there would not be like that of human beings. But, there might just be life there.

William MacKinnon is a professor of earth and planetary sciences at the Washington University, in St. Louis. In an article he published in Nature, he discussed Pluto's subsurface ocean, which he believes is filled with ammonia, which is highly toxic to life.

In his article, MacKinnon said: "Life can tolerate a lot of stuff: It can tolerate a lot of salt, extreme cold, extreme heat, etc. But I don't think it can tolerate the amount of ammonia Pluto needs to prevent its ocean from freezing."

MacKinnon, who has authored two books about Pluto, said, "What I think is down there in the ocean is rather noxious, very cold, salty and very ammonia-rich -- almost a syrup. It's no place for germs, much less fish or squid, or any life as we know it."


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