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NASA's New Horizons Focuses On Pluto's Largest Moon Charon

Posted by samzenpus on from the one-piece-of-silver dept.

MarkWhittington writes: New Horizons has already discovered much of what was previously unknown about Pluto, the dwarf planet that is the former ninth planet from the sun. NASA reported that the space probe has also uncovered some of the secrets of Pluto's largest moon, Charon. It has found indications of impact craters on the moon's gray surface as well as a chasm that seems to be bigger than the Grand Canyon on Earth. Charon has a diameter of just 1440 miles. By contrast, Earth has a diameter of 7918 miles.

2 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Bigger than the Grand Canyon Taller than Everest by Crashmarik · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Really it's impressive before you think about it. The Earth has active plate tectonics and ongoing weathering. It should come as no surprise that planets which don't have more pronounced features.

  2. What is Pluto? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 2, Insightful

    >> Pluto, the dwarf planet that is the former ninth planet from the sun

    Thanks for the explanation - as Slashdot readers, we needed it.