Charon

Astronomy Picture of the Day · 2015-07-17 · NASA (public domain)

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Charon — APOD for 2015-07-17

Icy world Charon is 1,200 kilometers across. That makes Pluto's largest moon only about 1/10th the size of planet Earth but a whopping 1/2 the diameter of Pluto itself . Charon is seen in unprecedented detail in this image from New Horizons. The image was captured late July 13 during the spacecraft's flight through the Plutonian system from a range of less than 500,000 kilometers. For reference, the distance separating Earth and Moon is less than 400,000 kilometers. Charonian terrain, described as surprising, youthful, and varied , includes a 1,000 kilometer swath of cliffs and troughs stretching below center, a 7 to 9 kilometer deep canyon cutting the curve of the upper right edge, and an enigmatic dark north polar region unofficially dubbed Mordor .

Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2015-07-17 — image & explanation courtesy of NASA (public domain), mirrored at Tukuk-OS for reading and search convenience.

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