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MOON: Charon
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CHARON
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· Your travel guide to the Solar System ·
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DEFINITION
Charon is the largest moon orbiting the dwarf planet Pluto.
REASONS TO VISIT
- Visit most distant moon in the Solar System
- Charon is 'tidally locked' to its parent, Pluto
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WHAT TO SEE
Charon is a frozen world which is probably made up of water and nitrogen ices.
Pluto
Pluto and Charon are 'tidally locked' to each other. So the same side of Charon always faces Pluto and only one side of Pluto can be seen from Charon. So your view of Pluto from Charon, and vice versa, would never change - great if you don't like dynamic holidays.
SPOTTING CHARON FROM THE EARTH
Charon is not visible from the Earth with the naked eye, and can only just be spotted with an amateur telescope.
Our best images of Charon come from the Hubble Space Telescope. In these photos you can see Charon with about the same resolution as when you look at the Moon in the sky from Earth.
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TRAVEL INFORMATION
Before you leave
Be aware that the Sun only shines on Charon with a meagre 40th of the strength that it does on Earth. So you won't be needing your sunglasses.
LOCAL HISTORY
In Greek mythology, Charon was a ferryman who sailed a boat across the river Acheron which ran through the Underworld. Pluto was the God of the Underworld.
Discovery
Charon was discovered in 1978 by James Christy who named the moon after his wife, Charlene. Before then, telescopes weren't strong enough to distinguish Pluto and Charon separately as two objects. They just looked like one big fuzzy blob.
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Go further
SEDS - The Nine Planets
In-depth site on the structure, mythology and exploration of Charon
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