Hopefully you’ve all seen the amazing new images of Pluto taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, but based on these new images of Charon, I think Pluto needs to share the celestial stage.
Step 1: Go check out these new images (Pluto and Charon, Charon alone). Step 2: Enlarge them to full resolution and explore. Step 3: Drop your jaw in awe.
Charon looks like half its surface has been chipped off, like a damaged Gobstopper or Jawbreaker. Some process or other is responsible for the strikingly different terrain in one hemisphere versus another and WE HAVE NO IDEA what it is. Well, we have some theories, including ice volcanoes. The outer solar system is truly a different beast.
Step 4: Fly over Charon’s ginormous canyon and ponder on what we might discover next.
Here’s some more geek from the week: Keep on geeking! @Summer_Ash, In-house Astrophysicist
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