Tag Archive for 'Charon'

This is an artist's concept of NASA's New Horizons during its planned encounter with Pluto and its moon, Charon: the craft's miniature cameras, radio science experiment, ultraviolet and infrared spectrometers and space plasma experiments would characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's atmosphere in detail; the spacecraft's most prominent design feature is a nearly 2.1-m dish antenna, through which it would communicate with Earth from as far as 7.5 billion km away. Image credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute / JHUAPL / SwRI.

NASA’s New Horizons Probe Wakes Up for Pluto Encounter

Dec 8, 2014 by News Staff

After a voyage of nine years and five billion kilometers, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is literally on Pluto’s doorstep, on schedule, in good health,...

This artist's impression shows the surface of Pluton, Charon and the Sun. Image credit: ESO / L. Calçada.

Charon May Once Have Had Underground Ocean

Jun 14, 2014 by News Staff

Charon – the largest moon of the dwarf planet Pluto – may once have had a warm subterranean ocean, suggests a team of planetary scientists led...

Gemini Observatory Captures Sharpest-Ever Ground-Based Image of Pluto and Charon

Sep 27, 2012 by News Staff

Using a method called reconstructive speckle imaging, a team of astronomers at the Gemini Observatory has captured the sharpest ground-based image ever...

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