Charon is a moon of Pluto discovered by astronomer James Christie of the U.S. Naval Observatory and officially announced by the International Astronomical Union on July 7, 1978, with the original provisional designation S/1978 P 1. It is the largest moon of Pluto and the O The name comes from Charon, the boatman of Hades, who transported the deceased in his boat from one bank of the Acheron River to the other.
The distance between Charon and Pluto is about 19,640 km, compared to the 384,400 km that separates the Earth from the Moon, on average. Charon is large for a satellite compared to Pluto, being almost half its size and 11.6% its mass. Furthermore, according to astronomers, it does not orbit Pluto, but both it and Pluto orbit around their common center of mass.
For these reasons, many astronomers consider Pluto and Charon to be a double planet, or even that the latter should be considered a dwarf planet in its own right.
New observations made of Charon by the most powerful space telescope, the James Webboffer scientists a more complete understanding of Charon’s composition and evolution.
The discoveries
James Webb detected carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide – both in solid (frozen) form on the surface of Charon. The two elements are added to water ice, ammonia-containing compounds and organic materials previously detected on the satellite’s surface.
Researchers with publication in the journal Nature Communications say that the presence of hydrogen peroxide reveals the cosmic radiation exposure that Charon experienced over time, while carbon dioxide is likely an early component dating back to the formation of this space body, before about 4,000 years ago. 5 billion years ago.
Hydrogen peroxide, researchers say, formed when water ice on Charon’s surface was chemically altered by the constant onslaught of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, as well as by energetic particles from the solar wind and galactic cosmic rays that streak across the Earth. Universe.
This research can lay the foundation for future studies that investigate the dynamics of external bodies of solar systemits surface composition and the effects of solar radiation.
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