List of geological features on Charon

The geological features of Charon, the largest moon of Pluto, are being mapped by scientists using data from the New Horizons spacecraft. The team has given provisional names to the most prominent.

As of April 2020^[update], only some of the names have been officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union, which has agreed that names for features on Charon should come from the following:^[1]^[2]

Destinations and milestones of fictional space and other exploration.
Fictional and mythological vessels of space and other exploration.
Fictional and mythological voyagers, travellers and explorers.
Authors and artists associated with space exploration, especially Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.

Some features discovered by the New Horizons mission have been given provisional names based on various science fiction and fantasy franchises, including Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Alien, Firefly, and Macross.^[3] These names remain unofficial until accepted by the IAU.

On 11 April 2018, the IAU announced that several of the feature names had been officially recognized.^[4]

Terrae

A terra (plural terrae) is an extensive landmass or highland. Charon's only highland region is named after a fictional destination.

Feature	Named after	Details	Name approved (Date · Ref)
Oz Terra^[5]	Land of Oz	The setting for L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz children's novel	—

Dorsa

A dorsum (plural dorsa) is a ridge. Charon's only dorsum is named after an author.

Feature	Named after	Details	Name approved (Date · Ref)
McCaffrey Dorsum	Anne McCaffrey	American-Irish science fiction author, best known for the Dragonriders of Pern series	2020-08-05 · WGPSN

Maculae

A macula (plural maculae) is a dark spot. Charonian maculae are named after fictional destinations.

Feature	Named after	Details	Name approved (Date · Ref)
Gallifrey Macula	Gallifrey	Planet in the Doctor Who series	—
Mordor Macula	Mordor	Land in the Tolkien mythology	—

Planitiae

A planitia (plural planitiae) is a large plain. Charon's only planitia is named after a fictional destination.

Feature	Named after	Details	Name approved (Date · Ref)
Vulcan Planitia	Vulcan	Planet in the Star Trek series	—

Montes

A mons (plural montes) is a mountain. Montes on Charon are named after authors and artists.

Feature	Named after	Details	Name approved (Date · Ref)
Butler Mons	Octavia E. Butler	science-fiction author	2018-04-11 · WGPSN
Clarke Montes	Arthur C. Clarke	science-fiction author	2018-04-11 · WGPSN
Kubrick Mons	Stanley Kubrick	film director	2018-04-11 · WGPSN

Chasmata

A chasma (plural chasmata) is a deep, elongated, steep-sided depression. Charonian chasmata are named after vessels in fiction.

Feature	Named after	Details	Name approved (Date · Ref)
Argo Chasma	Argo	ship in the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts, as well as the spaceship in the English translation of the Space Battleship Yamato anime series	2018-04-11 · WGPSN
Caleuche Chasma	Caleuche	mythological ghost ship that travels the seas around the small island of Chiloé Island, off the coast of Chile, collecting the dead, who then live aboard it forever	2018-04-11 · WGPSN
Macross Chasma	SDF-1 Macross	spaceship in the Macross anime series	—
Mandjet Chasma^[6]	Mandjet	solar boat of the ancient Egyptian sun god Ra	2018-04-11 · WGPSN
Nostromo Chasma	Nostromo	spaceship in the Alien films	—
Serenity Chasma	Serenity	spaceship in the Firefly series	—
Tardis Chasma	TARDIS	spaceship/timeship in the Doctor Who series	—

Craters

Craters on Charon are named after characters associated with science fiction and fantasy.

Feature	Named after	Details	Name approved (Date · Ref)
Alice	Alice	protagonist of two novels by Lewis Carroll	—
Cora	Cora	protagonist of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead	2020-08-05 · WGPSN
Dorothy^[7]	Dorothy Gale	protagonist of the Oz novels by L. Frank Baum	2018-04-11 · WGPSN
Kaguya-Hime	Kaguya-Hime	princess from the Moon in a Japanese folk tale	—
Kirk	James T. Kirk	character in the Star Trek series	—
Organa	Leia Organa	character in the Star Wars films	—
Nasreddin	Nasreddin	Sufi traveller from folklore	2018-04-11 · WGPSN
Nemo	Captain Nemo	character in two novels by Jules Verne	2018-04-11 · WGPSN
Pirx	Pilot Pirx	main character in short stories by Stanisław Lem	2018-04-11 · WGPSN
Revati	Revati	main character in the Hindu epic narrative Mahabharata	2018-04-11 · WGPSN
Ripley	Ellen Ripley	character in the Alien films	—
Sadko	Sadko	adventurer who traveled to the bottom of the sea in the medieval Russian epic Bylina	2018-04-11 · WGPSN
Skywalker	Luke Skywalker	character in the Star Wars films	—
Spock	Spock	character in the Star Trek series	—
Sulu	Hikaru Sulu	character in the Star Trek series	—
Uhura	Nyota Uhura	character in the Star Trek series	—
Vader	Darth Vader	character in the Star Wars films	—

References

^ "Naming of Astronomical Objects". www.iau.org. IAU General Assembly 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
^ "Official Naming of Surface Features on Pluto and its Satellites". www.iau.org. IAU General Assembly 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
^ Brown, Andrew R.; Byrd, Deborah (August 2015). "First maps of Charon and Pluto". earthsky.org. EarthSky Communications Inc. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
^ "Pluto's Largest Moon, Charon, Gets Its First Official Feature Names". www.iau.org. IAU General Assembly 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
^ Singer, Kelsi. "New Horizons: Peering into Pluto's Past". New Horizons. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
^ Moore, Jeffrey M.; McKinnon, William B.; Spencer, John R.; Howard, Alan D.; Schenk, Paul M.; Beyer, Ross A.; Nimmo, Francis; Singer, Kelsi N.; Umurhan, Orkan M. (2016-03-18). "The geology of Pluto and Charon through the eyes of New Horizons". Science. 351 (6279): 1284–1293. arXiv:1604.05702. Bibcode:2016Sci...351.1284M. doi:10.1126/science.aad7055. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 26989245. S2CID 206644622.
^ Grundy, W. M.; et al. (2016). "Surface compositions across Pluto and Charon". Science. 351 (6279). Science 351: aad9189. arXiv:1604.05368. Bibcode:2016Sci...351.9189G. doi:10.1126/science.aad9189. PMID 26989260. S2CID 1247225.

External links

[1] "Naming of Astronomical Objects". www.iau.org. IAU General Assembly 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.

[IAU-2] "Official Naming of Surface Features on Pluto and its Satellites". www.iau.org. IAU General Assembly 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.

[3] Brown, Andrew R.; Byrd, Deborah (August 2015). "First maps of Charon and Pluto". earthsky.org. EarthSky Communications Inc. Retrieved 3 April 2018.

[4] "Pluto's Largest Moon, Charon, Gets Its First Official Feature Names". www.iau.org. IAU General Assembly 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.

[5] Singer, Kelsi. "New Horizons: Peering into Pluto's Past". New Horizons. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved March 21, 2016.

[6] Moore, Jeffrey M.; McKinnon, William B.; Spencer, John R.; Howard, Alan D.; Schenk, Paul M.; Beyer, Ross A.; Nimmo, Francis; Singer, Kelsi N.; Umurhan, Orkan M. (2016-03-18). "The geology of Pluto and Charon through the eyes of New Horizons". Science. 351 (6279): 1284–1293. arXiv:1604.05702. Bibcode:2016Sci...351.1284M. doi:10.1126/science.aad7055. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 26989245. S2CID 206644622.

[7] Grundy, W. M.; et al. (2016). "Surface compositions across Pluto and Charon". Science. 351 (6279). Science 351: aad9189. arXiv:1604.05368. Bibcode:2016Sci...351.9189G. doi:10.1126/science.aad9189. PMID 26989260. S2CID 1247225.

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