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Charon (moon)

Adapted from Wikipedia · Explorer experience

A true-color image of Charon, Pluto's largest moon, showing its distinctive surface features including the reddish north-polar region known as Mordor Macula, as captured by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.

Charon: Pluto's Big Moon

Charon is the biggest moon that orbits the dwarf planet Pluto. It was discovered in 1978 by an astronomer named James Christy using a telescope in Washington, D.C.. He noticed a strange shape near Pluto in old pictures and realized it was a smaller object moving around Pluto.

Charon is very large. It is about half the width of Pluto and one‑eighth the mass of Pluto. Because it is so big, Charon and Pluto have a special pull on each other. They are tidally locked, meaning they always show the same face to one another. This is rare in our Solar System.

Charon has a reddish-brown cap on its north pole made of special molecules. These molecules might help scientists learn about how life could start. In 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft flew close to Charon, giving us our first close looks at this interesting world.

Charon was named after the astronomer’s wife, Charlene, and also after a character from ancient stories. In those stories, Charon helped people cross to the afterlife. This made it a good match because Charon orbits Pluto. Scientists think Charon may have formed from a big crash that happened a very long time ago.

Images

Astronomer James Christy examining images that led to the discovery of Pluto's moon, Charon, from the U.S. Naval Observatory.
Animation showing how Pluto and its moon Charon orbit each other, created using data from the New Horizons spacecraft.
A comparison showing the sizes of Charon, the Moon, and Earth to help understand how big these celestial bodies are.
Map of Charon, Pluto's largest moon, showing its officially named features.
A NASA spacecraft view showing the icy plains and mountain features on Pluto and Charon, our solar system's distant dwarf planets.
A beautiful nighttime view of Pluto's moon Charon, gently lit by reflected light from Pluto, captured by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft during its historic flyby in 2015.
A stunning image of the dwarf planet Pluto and its moon Charon, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, showing the two celestial bodies in space.
Color animation showing the dwarf planet Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, orbiting each other as captured by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.
A colorful view of the dwarf planet Pluto and its moon Charon, showing their unique surfaces as captured by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.
A photograph of Pluto and its moon Charon, taken by telescopes from Earth.

Related articles

Dwarf planet
Pluto
James Christy
Washington, D.C.
Tidally locked
Solar System

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Charon (moon), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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