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Moon

Charon

Charon is the largest moon of the dwarf planet Pluto, roughly half Pluto's diameter.

Type
Moon
Domain
Scientific connections
Connections
1

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute · NASA media (public domain)

Global Map of Pluto Moon Charon
Global Map of Pluto Moon Charon · NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Experience system V6

Satellite world profile

A moon-first layout that links the body to its parent planet, orbital context, geology, and mission evidence when available.

Moon orbitSurface factsParent-body relationMission links
  1. 01

    Observe

    NASA imagery anchors the visual reading with licensed source metadata.

  2. 02

    Measure

    Numerical fields come from the typed Solar System catalog and are omitted when not available.

  3. 03

    Locate

    Child of Pluto.

  4. 04

    Connect

    1 graph relation shape the knowledge viewport.

Object type
Moon
Graph relations
1
Verified sources
2
Image records
4
Domain
Scientific connections
Status
Graph entity

Scientific map

Orbit context

PlutoCharonCatalog position context
Primary orbital anchor
Pluto
Measured orbit field
Orbital distance not recorded in this graph record

Original SVG diagram

Interior and field cues

Structure cuesOuter envelope / surfaceInterior layerCore region604 km radius
Atmosphere
Not recorded
Mean temperature
Not recorded
Gravity
Not recorded
Magnetic field
Not recorded
PlutoCharonMoon

Visual knowledge graph

Relationships, not isolated facts

This viewport is generated from the Asteria knowledge graph. Science, culture, and interpretive links remain separated by domain so visual context never changes the evidentiary meaning of a relation.

Image provenance

Photography as evidence

4 cleared visual records
Informal Names for Features on Pluto Moon Charon

Informal Names for Features on Pluto Moon Charon

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute · NASA media (public domain)

Global Map of Pluto Moon Charon

Global Map of Pluto Moon Charon

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute · NASA media (public domain)

Pluto Hulk-like Moon Charon: A Possible Ancient Ocean?

Pluto Hulk-like Moon Charon: A Possible Ancient Ocean?

NASA/JPL-Caltech · NASA media (public domain)

Landslides on Charon

Landslides on Charon

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute · NASA media (public domain)

Continue the atlas

Curated next objects

dwarf planet

Pluto

Pluto is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt beyond the orbit of Neptune.

space mission

New Horizons

New Horizons is a NASA space probe launched in 2006 that performed the first close flyby of the dwarf planet Pluto in 2015.

orbital resonance

2:3 resonance with Neptune

The resonance in which a body completes two orbits for every three of Neptune's — the home of the 'plutinos', including Pluto itself.

minor planet group

Kuiper Belt

The broad ring of icy bodies beyond Neptune, home to Pluto and the other classical trans-Neptunian objects.

timeline event

New Horizons Flies Past Pluto

After a nine-year journey, New Horizons sweeps past Pluto, revealing an astonishingly varied world and completing the first reconnaissance of the classical Solar System.

location

Solar System

The Sun and the bodies gravitationally bound to it.

Observation

How this was captured

Source
NASA
Observation date
2015-07-29

Gallery

Pluto Hulk-like Moon Charon: A Possible Ancient Ocean?

Images from NASA New Horizons mission suggest that Pluto largest moon, Charon, once had a subsurface ocean that has long since frozen and expanded, pushing out on the moon surface.

2016

NASA/JPL-Caltech · NASA media (public domain)

Source archive ↗

Data

Scientific data & provenance

Data & provenance

Stable ID
moon:charon
Type
Moon
Domain
Scientific connections
Relationships
1
Graph version
1.0.0

Dataset membership

Open data

In the graph export: graph.json · graph.jsonld

Planned API: GET /api/v0/entities/moon:charon

Scientific quality

Partial
Unreviewed2 sourcesv1.0.0

3 of 6 applicable dimensions complete, 1 partial

Description
Complete
Source coverage
Complete
Relationship coverage
Partial
Review coverage
None
Citation coverage
None
Image coverage
Complete
Timeline coverage
Not applicable

Scientific entity. Dimensions that cannot apply to this object are excluded rather than counted as gaps. See the evidence framework and authority dashboard.

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Sources & references

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

  • NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.

    Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.

  • NASA JPLJet Propulsion Laboratory / Solar System Dynamics

    Orbital data, ephemerides, and small-body parameters for planets, asteroids, and comets.