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22 Jun, 2015

Charon’s dark pole

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A Dark Mystery on Charon: These recent images show the discovery of significant surface details on Pluto’s largest moon, Charon. They were taken by the New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on June 18, 2015. The image on the left is the original image, displayed at four times the native LORRI image size. After applying a technique that sharpens an image called deconvolution, details become visible on Charon, including a distinct dark pole. Deconvolution can occasionally introduce "false" details, so the finest details in these pictures will need to be confirmed by images taken from closer range in the next few weeks. NASA releases a photo of Charon showing a dark region near its north pole.

The unambiguous detection of bright and dark terrain units on both Pluto and Charon indicates a wide range of diverse landscapes across the pair. . . . And about Charon—wow—I don’t think anyone expected Charon to reveal a mystery like dark terrains at its pole. Who ordered that?

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