Pluto's 'Cold Cold Heart''

Hank Williams in 1951   (Public Domain)

In his song “Cold Cold Heart,” Hank Williams mournfully wonders why his lover’s icy heart just won’t melt.

Scientists have long been wondering the same about Pluto’s icy heart-shaped region. Researcher Tanguy Bertrand from the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie in France thinks he’s finally got some answers.

Bertrand recently explained that Pluto’s “heart” is composed of “highly volatile nitrogen ice.”  Over time, this forms a deep “permanent reservoir of ice.”

So Pluto is not only frigid, but also unpredictable.  Nevertheless, this petite planet attracts lovers from across the solar system.  Before blasting off for an intimate encounter, astronauts would do well to review fellow-Earthling Hank Williams’ lament.

It didn’t exactly have a happy ending.

Resources

http://www.bing.com/search?q=cold+cold+heart&form=U164DF&pc=U164 

Copyright September 21, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved