If the images of the dwarf planet Pluto published by NASA in recent months haven’t been enough for you, now high-resolution photos of Charon, its largest moon, have been released. The first images arrived soon after the New Horizons space probe’s July 14, 2015 flyby had already shown a moon with a complex geology. These new images show even better the deep chasms that ply its equator and the curious color of its north pole.
New photographs of Charon combine images in blue, red and infrared taken by the MVIC (Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera) instrument, one of the components of the small Ralph telescope that is part of the New Horizons space probe’s payload. The colors were enhanced to make them stand out better but they are real ones.
The deep chasm that crosses Charon’s equator is a geological feature that you notice immediately. This canyon system stretches over 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) and probably continues on the other side of this moon. Unfortunately the flyby allowed to photograph only one side of Charon, therefore we don’t know what lies on the other one but there could be some sort of belt that wraps it completely.
The only canyon system comparable to that of Charon is the Valles Marineris on Mars, which have a total length of about 4,000 kilometers (almost 2,500 miles). In both cases, the hypothesis is that there’s some tectonic phenomenon at its origin and in the case of Charon it must have been really massive.
Charon’s north pole is occupied by what is called informally Mordor Macula. This reddish area has an origin that has yet to be studied in depth. For the moment, the main hypothesis is that the color is originated by tholins, compounds that are formed due to solar ultraviolet radiation starting from compounds such as methane or ethane.
Tholins were also found on Triton, a moon of Neptune. This indicates that the solar ultraviolet radiation is enough even at considerable distances to create these compounds. In the case of Charon, the tholins could arrive from Pluto’s atmosphere. More data sent by the New Horizons space probe will confirm or refute this hypothesis.
Like Pluto, Charon seems a little world much more alive than previously thought. The area south of the canyon system called Vulcan Planum has fewer large craters than the northern regions, indicating that they were formed more recently. It’s possible that the smooth surface is caused by cryovolcanic activities. In this case, this could mean that an underground ocean of water froze a long time ago and the volume change cracked the surface open making water-based lava flow there.
We can expect more news of Charon from the photographs and other data that the New Horizons space probe will keep one sending for another year due to slow transmission. Each new image is revealing new details of Pluto and Charon that are very interesting from the scientific point of view and at the same time spectacular.
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