Friday, October 2

New Horizon Images of Charon

NASA's New Horizons continues to send one stunning shot after another.  The image above is from Pluto's moon Charon.  As with Mars, you can see a great canyon scarring the surface of the moon.  NASA notes:
High-resolution images of the Pluto-facing hemisphere of Charon, taken by New Horizons as the spacecraft sped through the Pluto system on July 14 and transmitted to Earth on Sept. 21, reveal details of a belt of fractures and canyons just north of the moon's equator. This great canyon system stretches more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) across the entire face of Charon and likely around onto Charon's far side. Four times as long as the Grand Canyon, and twice as deep in places, these faults and canyons indicate a titanic geological upheaval in Charon's past.
NASA expected even higher resolution images to be transmitted shortly.  New Horizons will be transmitting these amazing images over the next year or so.  The gift that keeps giving.