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How big is Charon?

Charon is 1,200 킬로미터

Introduction

Have you ever wondered about the worlds beyond our own planet? Well, there’s a lot more out there than just the eight planets we’re usually taught about in school. One of these fascinating places is Charon, a large moon that orbits the dwarf planet Pluto. Despite being a moon, Charon is pretty big in its own right, and there are some really interesting things to discover about it.

Size of Charon

Charon is the largest moon of Pluto, and it is quite a sizable object in the solar system. It has a mean radius of about 606 kilometers (or 377 miles). To put that into perspective, that’s about half the size of Pluto itself! If you can imagine it, Charon is roughly the size of the state of Texas.

  • Charon’s diameter: approximately 1,212 kilometers (or 753 miles) - Charon’s circumference: approximately 3,807 kilometers (or 2,365 miles)

Size Comparison

Charon isn’t just big compared to Pluto, it’s also big compared to other objects in the solar system. In fact, it’s the sixth-largest known object that’s found beyond the planet Neptune. Only five other bodies - Pluto, Eris, Haumea, Makemake, and Gonggong - are bigger. To help you understand just how big Charon is, let’s do some comparisons:

  • If Earth and Charon were put side by side, Earth would be about 13 times bigger. - Charon is roughly 9 times smaller than Earth’s moon. - If you stacked 10 Charons on top of one another, they would reach about the same height as our planet.

Unique Features of Charon

Despite its size, Charon isn’t just a big, boring rock in space. It has some fascinating features that make it really special. For example, the north pole of Charon is capped with a reddish-brown substance known as tholins. These are complex organic molecules that could be key ingredients for life. These tholins could have come from eruptions on Charon, or they might have traveled a whopping 19,000 kilometers (12,000 miles) from Pluto’s atmosphere to reach this moon.

Charon and Human Exploration

Charon may be far away from us, but that hasn’t stopped us from exploring it. The New Horizons spacecraft, which was launched by NASA, flew by Charon in 2015. It got to within 27,000 kilometers (17,000 miles) of this moon, giving us some of our best views and most detailed information about Charon so far.

Conclusion

Charon is a fascinating world that’s big in size and big on interest. Even though it’s just a moon, it has a lot to teach us about the solar system. It’s a reminder that size isn’t everything - even places that are smaller than our own planet can be full of surprises. Whether you’re a budding astronaut or just someone who loves to learn, it’s worth taking the time to learn about Charon. Who knows? Maybe one day, you’ll be part of the next mission to explore this intriguing moon.

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