Pluto's icy surface may conceal a vast ocean, say researchers

The position of the dwarf planet's heart has long been a puzzle. Now two research teams suggest Pluto tipped over - potentially aided by a huge ocean

Pluto may have a vast ocean beneath its frozen crust, according to researchers studying a heart-shaped feature on the dwarf planet's surface.

Captured in high resolution by the New Horizon's spacecraft in 2015, the bright, heart-shaped expanse is known as Tombaugh Regio, the left lobe of which is formed by the 1,000-kilometre-wide Sputnik Planitia. This plain is thought to have arisen after a meteorite slammed into Pluto's surface billions of years ago, producing a crater that later filled with nitrogen ice.