To the oddities that describe the far reaches of our solar system astronomers have recently added a new one: it appears that Pluto’s moon, Charon, has geysers that spit out tiny particles of water and ammonia.

Beyond Neptune’s orbit, in a ring of icy stellar bodies called Kuiper’s Belt, astronomers have spotted numerous cosmic oddities and Pluto is one of them. Having been recently stripped off of its status of planet and renamed “planetary object”, Pluto is orbited by at least one moon (Charon), although astronomers suspect the presence of at least two more.

Discovered in 1978, Charon has recently been found to have frigid geysers that slowly spew material up, through cracks present in the crust.

Scientists working with the Gemini Observatory have discovered evidence that Charon is simply a giant ice machine, by combining high-resolution spectra obtained using the Gemini Observatory’s Adaptive Optics system- ALTAIR- with images from the near-infrared instrument NIRI.

Astronomers working with Frederick C. Gillett Gemini North telescope on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea consider these images as “the best evidence yet” that Charon’s surface is covered with “spots” of ammonia hydrates and water crystals. The observations suggest that liquid water mixed with ammonia from deep within Charon is pushing out to the ultra-cold surface.

However, Charon’s ammonia-ice geysers are not similar to the ones found on Earth: the ice-fountains are very slow, with astronomers estimating that a few hours to a few days are needed for a small amount of water particles to erupt. Due to this large time scale and due to the scarcity of water particles, scientists have estimated that in order to fully cover Charon in a 1 millimeter stratus of ice it would take about 100,000 years. The recent finding could impact on what astronomers consider about Kuiper’s Belt and the cosmic object that populate it.

“There are a number of mechanisms that could explain the presence of crystalline water ice on the surface of Charon,” said Jason Cook, the PhD student at Arizona State University who led the team of planetary scientists studying the surface of Charon. “Our spectra point consistently to cryovolcanism, which brings liquid water to the surface, where it freezes into ice crystals. That implies that Charon’s interior possesses liquid water.”