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A simulated view of the Pluto–Charon system showing that Pluto orbits a point outside itself. Also visible is the mutual tidal locking between the two bodies. Charon and Pluto orbit each other every 6.387 days. The two objects are gravitationally locked to one another, so each keeps the same face towards the other. This is a case of mutual ...
Moons of Pluto. The dwarf planet Pluto has five natural satellites. [ 1] In order of distance from Pluto, they are Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. [ 2] Charon, the largest, is mutually tidally locked with Pluto, and is massive enough that Pluto and Charon are sometimes considered a binary dwarf planet.
Five known moons of Pluto to scale. Pluto has five known natural satellites. The largest and closest to Pluto is Charon. First identified in 1978 by astronomer James Christy, Charon is the only moon of Pluto that may be in hydrostatic equilibrium. Charon's mass is sufficient to cause the barycenter of the Pluto–Charon system to be outside Pluto.
Mordor Macula / ˈmɔːrdɔːr ˈmækjʊlə / is the informal name for a large dark area about 475 km in diameter near the north pole of Charon, Pluto 's largest moon. [2] It is named after the black land called Mordor in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings .
The geology of Charon encompasses the characteristics of the surface, crust, and interior of Pluto 's moon Charon. Like the geology of Pluto, almost nothing was known of Charon's geology until the New Horizons of the Pluto system on 14 July 2015. Charon's diameter is 1,208 km (751 mi)—just over half that of Pluto. [1]
Pluto and Charon are an extreme example of a tidal lock. Charon is a relatively large moon in comparison to its primary and also has a very close orbit. This results in Pluto and Charon being mutually tidally locked. Pluto's other moons are not tidally locked; Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra all rotate chaotically due to the influence of Charon ...
Annotated map of Charon, with IAU-approved names for features as of 2018. The geological features of Charon, the largest moon of Pluto, are being mapped by scientists using data from the New Horizons spacecraft. The team has given provisional names to the most prominent. As of April 2020, only some of the names have been officially recognized ...
Alma mater. University of Arizona. Scientific career. Fields. Astronomy, astrometry. Institutions. United States Naval Observatory. Hughes Missile Systems. James Walter "Jim" Christy (born September 15, 1938) is an American astronomer known for discovering Charon, the largest moon of the dwarf planet Pluto .