PIA19690: A Dark Mystery on Charon


A Dark Mystery on Charon

Caption:

These recent images show the discovery of significant surface details on Pluto's largest moon, Charon. They were taken by the New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on June 18, 2015. The image on the left is the original image, displayed at four times the native LORRI image size. After applying a technique that sharpens an image called deconvolution, details become visible on Charon, including a distinct dark pole. Deconvolution can occasionally introduce "false" details, so the finest details in these pictures will need to be confirmed by images taken from closer range in the next few weeks.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Charon Pluto
System Pluto Kuiper Belt
Target Type Satellite Dwarf Planet, KBO
Mission New Horizons
Instrument Host New Horizons
Host Type Flyby Spacecraft
Instrument Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI)
Detector
Extra Keywords Color, Visual
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2015-06-22
Date in Caption 2015-06-18
Image Credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19690
Identifier PIA19690