The photos offer breathtaking panoramic views and informative. One more small step to reveal the mysterious story of the Pluto system.
Charon is about half Pluto’s diameter, and is in fixed rotation with the dwarf planet. This means that both bodies always have the same side facing one another, similar to the Earth and the Moon. But are the only similarities. Charon is not a dead stone full of dust and craters, but of enormous gorges, mountains and colorful pieces, which indicates the presence of a large variety of natural materials. This is evident in red satellite north pole (nicknamed “Mordor Macula”), where the team “New Horizons” believes exist organic hydrocarbons, transferred from Pluto.
Something remarkable in Charon, displayed the images in greater detail, is a massive scarring even in the middle. It’s a huge canyon system that extends for 1600 kilometers, maybe even to the other side. NASA says the passes are four times but long, and two times more funds than the Grand Canyon. It’s the kind of geological formation that can only have been a very active world, which was the last thing expected by NASA on a moon of this size and so remote in the solar system.
“Surprise” has been the subject from the flight from New Horizons this summer. Few expected that Pluto had vast mountains, exotic ice flows, a visible atmosphere and methane reserves. The same “surprise” occurs with Charon and its diverse surface. There are, of course, more surprises to come, as it remains to reach 90% of the information collected by the probe.
Charon Gorge detail – Image: NASA
Comparison of Charon’s size to Pluto – Image: NASA
Rossio Gazette
Source: The Verge
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