Page 4 July 7, 2016 Finance Looking Up Research Bolsters Case for a Subsurface Ocean - and a Habitat for Life - on Pluto By Bob Eklund When NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft buzzed by Pluto last year, it revealed tantalizing clues that the dwarf planet might have—or had at one time—a liquid ocean sloshing around under its icy crust. According to a new analysis led by Brown University, such an ocean likely still exists today. The study, which used a thermal evolution model for Pluto updated with data from New Horizons, found that if Pluto’s ocean had frozen into oblivion millions or billions of years ago, it would have caused the entire planet to shrink. But there are no signs of a global contraction to be found on Pluto’s surface. On the contrary, New Horizons showed signs that Pluto has been expanding. “Thanks to the incredible data returned by New Horizons, we were able to observe tectonic features on Pluto’s surface, update our thermal evolution model with new data and infer that Pluto most likely has a subsurface ocean today,” said Noah Hammond, a graduate student in Brown’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, and the study’s lead author. The pictures New Horizons sent back from its close encounter with the Kuiper Belt’s most famous denizen showed that Pluto was much more than a simple snowball in space. It has an exotic surface made from different types of ices—water, nitrogen, and methane. It has mountains hundreds of meters high and a vast heart-shaped plain. It also has giant tectonic features—sinuous faults hundreds of kilometers long as deep as 4 kilometers. It was those tectonic features that got scientists thinking that a subsurface ocean was a real possibility for Pluto. “What New Horizons showed was that there are extensional tectonic features, which indicate that Pluto underwent a period of global expansion,” Hammond said. “A subsurface ocean that was slowly freezing over would cause this kind of expansion.” Scientists think that there may have been enough heat-producing radioactive elements within Pluto’s rocky core to melt part of the planet’s ice shell. Over time in the frigid Kuiper belt, that melted portion would eventually start to refreeze. Ice is less dense than water, so when it freezes, it expands. If Pluto had on ocean that was frozen or in the process of freezing, extensional tectonics on the surface would result, and that’s what New Horizons saw. The thermal evolution model run by Hammond and his colleagues showed that because of the low temperatures and high pressure within Pluto, an ocean that had completely frozen over would quickly convert from the normal ice we all know to a different phase called ice II. Ice II has a more compact crystalline structure than standard ice, so an ocean frozen to ice II would occupy a smaller volume and lead to a global contraction on Pluto, rather than an expansion. Taken together, the new model bolsters the case for a liquid ocean environment—which could even be a habitat for living creatures— in the furthest reaches of the solar system. “That’s amazing to me,” Hammond said. “The possibility that you could have vast liquid water ocean habitats so far from the Sun on Pluto—and that the same could also be possible on other Kuiper belt objects as well—is absolutely incredible.” • Am I Insurable? Three Steps to Take (BPT) - Most people intuitively know the benefits of good health. Some work hard to maintain their health throughout their lifetime, and others not so much. Despite the best or worst intentions, health complications can occur at any time which may impact many areas of life, including finances. At some point in our lives, perhaps when a personal experience jolts some serious thinking, many may even wonder, “Am I insurable? Am I eligible for life insurance?” And for those who have experienced health issues, they may be surprised to hear that the answer may be yes. For example, MassMutual has been offering life insurance coverage to breast cancer survivors since 1964. Thanks to continuous evaluation of underwriting guidelines, the company believes that more survivors than ever are qualifying for coverage with shorter waiting periods and lower premiums. So what factors influence a person’s ability to obtain life insurance coverage? Family medical history, life expectancy, risk factors (such as high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol), and lifestyle (for example, smoking status) may play a role. If a pre-existing condition exists, insurers may look at the specific type of illness, severity, time elapsed since diagnosis, stability of the person’s health, and treatment regimen, among other variables. Although not everyone with a history of a serious illness will be able to obtain life insurance coverage, the good news is that with more medical information available, better detection, earlier diagnosis, and more effective treatment of illness may mean people live longer, healthier lives. And that means those with a history of serious illness may qualify for life insurance at rates similar to people without pre-existing conditions - once their condition is under control. So what can people do to help improve their insurability? MassMutual offers these 3 tips: Buy when you’re young If you purchase life (and disability income) insurance coverage before health issues begin to creep in, you will likely end up paying a lower premium over the lifetime of the policy. Make your health a priority People who watch their weight, exercise regularly, get routine physicals and preventative prescribed medications will generally have a better risk assessment, which could help increase their eligibility for coverage. It’s an undisputable fact: non-tobacco users qualify for significantly lower rates than people who smoke or chew tobacco. There’s always a health benefit to stopping, too. Cardiovascular risks drop rapidly, and after a period of cessation, former smokers can typically obtain a better rate. Take every precaution to protect your health, and your financial health. Don’t put it off for a rainy day - make it a priority. For more information, visit massmutual. com. • FR E E health screenings, and consistently take Stop smoking Shred Event / Identity Theft Prevention Campaign To help prevent identity theft, The City of El Segundo in conjunction with Consolidated Disposal Service will be holding a Community Shred Day. The event will take place on Saturday, July 9th, 2016 from 10am until 1pm in the City Hall parking lot on Standard Street and is open to all El Segundo residents. So bring your confidential documents for safe, secure, on-site destruction. You can watch as your sensitive material is professionally shredded right in front of you! For questions please call (310) 524-2357 Douglass M O R T U A R Y “Our Family Serving Yours Since 1954” B U R I A L - C R E M A T I O N - W O R L D W I D E T R A N S F E R P E T M E M O R I A L P R O D U C T S 500 EAST IMPERIAL AVENUE EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA 90245 Telephone (310) 640-9325 • Fax (310) 640-0778 • FD658
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