Charon
| Charon | |
|---|---|
| |
| Charon-nhplutoenc150703-Orbiter2016D3D9.jpg| | |
| Designation | |
| Name | Charon |
| Reference body | 134340 Pluto |
| Number of satellites | |
| Planetary mean orbits | |
| Epoch | 2002.88980151 |
| Semimajor axis (a) | 19571421.7074156 m |
| Eccentricity (e) | 0.0000373396813869476 |
| Inclination (i) | 0° (0 radian) |
| Longitude of the ascending node (LAN, ☊) | 219.363153172047° (3.82860928040886 radian) |
| Longitude of periapsis (ϖ) | 136.954° (2.39029822377631 radian) |
| Mean longitude (L) | 34.9° (0.60911990894602 radian) |
| Selected physical parameters | |
| Mean radius | 606316.642534735 m |
| Mass | 1.51311205×1021 kg |
| Sidereal rotation period | 551856.709233070848 sec (6.38723 hours) |
| SidRotOffset | 3.14159265358979324 |
| Obliquity | 96.145° (1.67804680932995 radian) |
| LAN | 43.046° (0.7512944298135 radian) |
| Note | *Elements given are from Charon.cfg (PlutoandMoons.zip) |
Charon is the largest natural satellite of Pluto. Its radius is about half that of Pluto, and their barycentre lies outside both objects. This is a common definition of a binary object, leading some astronomers to consider them a double dwarf planet.
Charon was discovered in 1978 by James W Christy.
From the discovery of Nix and Hydra, it was possible to estimate Charon's mass as roughly 10% that of Pluto. This implies it's approximately 45% ice, thought mostly to be water ice.
Charon in Orbiter
Charon was introduced to Orbiter with the release of pluto_pack.zip in July 2004.
| Add-on | Source | Version | Author | Type | Release Date | Compatibility | Wiki article |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Horizons Pluto Encounter | O-F Resources | 2015-07-09 | BrianJ | Scenarios | 9 July 2015 | ||
| Celestial Bodies Motion - Part 2/4 - v2.0.0 | O-F Resources | v2.0.0 | cristiapi | Scenery | 2 July 2015 | *config and module only | |
| Pluto and Moons | O-F Resources | 2010-05-13 | Piper | Scenery | 13 May 2010 | ||
| Orbital correction for Pluto and moons | O-F Resources | 2009-11-25 | Unknown OHM Addon Developer | Scenery | 25 November 2009 | ||
| Pluto | O-F Resources | 2006-11-13 | Unknown OHM Addon Developer | Scenery | 13 November 2006 | ||
| Pluto-Charon v2.0 | O-F Resources | 2005-05-09 | Nighthawke | Scenery | 10 May 2005 | Orbiter 2005 | |
| Pluto Pack | AVSIM | CharlotMan | Scenery | 17 July 2004 | |||
Gallery
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Charon from pluto_pack.zip in Orbiter 2003P2 -
Charon from Pluto-Charon_v2.0.zip in Orbiter 2005P1 -
Charon from Pluto.zip in Orbiter 2006P1 -
Charon from PlutoandMoons.zip in Orbiter 2006P1 -
Charon from Pluto and Moons.zip and New Horizons Pluto Encounter.zip in Orbiter 2016 with D3D9 -
Charon imaged by New Horizons spacecraft in July 2015
from Wikimedia Commons -
first color animation of the orbits of Pluto and Charon
from Wikimedia Commons -
Animation of the moons of Pluto (Pluto white, Charon blue, Styx green, Nix magenta, Kerberos cyan, Hydra red)
from Wikimedia Commons
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