Posted on 10/01/2015 9:50:07 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: A darkened and mysterious north polar region informally known as Mordor Macula caps this premier high-resolution portrait of Charon, Pluto's largest moon. Captured by New Horizons near its closest approach on July 14, the image data was transmitted to Earth on September 21. The combined blue, red, and infrared data is processed to enhance colors, following variations in surface properties with a resolution of about 2.9 kilometers (1.8 miles). In fact, Charon is 1,214 kilometers (754 miles) across, about 1/10th the size of planet Earth but a whopping 1/2 the diameter of Pluto itself. That makes it the largest satellite relative to its planet in the solar system. This remarkable image of Charon's Pluto-facing hemisphere shows a clearer view of an apparently moon-girdling belt of fractures and canyons that seems to separate smooth southern plains from varied northern terrain.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, Southwest Research Institute]
for later. And btw, WOW, nice image! This flyby mission will go down as the greatest in the history of space exploration, up to this time at least, and it’s hard to believe anyone will ever top it.
http://129.164.179.22/apod/image/1510/Charon-Neutral-Bright-Release.jpg
Kewl pic. I sure like getting these.
Wow. Thanks.
Pluto and Charon have turned out to be quite interesting spheres, haven’t they? The images continue to “wow”!
They do!
Usually when there’s only one size image, it’s the small one, today’s appears to be The Big One. The moon appears to be a little out of round, but a fascinating surface. :’)
The cliffs along that center ridge look enormous!
Thanks for the post,I too am loving these pics!
Looks like it’s had a rough life.
It does look a bit lopsided and otherwise beaten up.
Gives it character though.
Curious red dust. Looks like a bit of cinnamon on a donut hole. ;p Don’t show it to Chris Christie.
An ovoid with a brown stain?..............hmmmm.......................
It’s very patriotic. It has blue, red, and white features.
That is a great picture, and about time we got a hi-res look at Charon.
Thank you for the post and ping, Mr. Civilizations. ;-)
Here the petition to promote Pluto back to planetary status…
Remember you are not just helping Pluto but if it was promoted it would be a stick in the eye of atheist activist Neil Tyson’s who played a big role in demoting it.
https://www.change.org/p/international-astronomical-union-declare-pluto-a-planet-plutoflyby
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