Charon

Outline The numbers here are measured. The rest of this page is being written.

The path of Charon round Pluto, seen from above and drawn to scale, with the white dot at its nearest point. Orbit from NASA/JPL Solar System Dynamics, planetary satellites.

Kind: Moon of Pluto
Distance: 19,600 km from Pluto on average
Once round: 6.387 days
Path: very nearly a circle (eccentricity 0), tilted 0°
Size: 1,212 km across, 34.9 per cent of our Moon’s width
Density: 1.85 times water
Found: 1978, by J.W. Christy

Pluto On the atlas In 3D

Charon, our Moon and Pluto, drawn to one scale from their measured sizes, as plain discs.

Still being written

What it looks like up close
What it is made of
How it was found
Spacecraft that have seen it
What is still unknown

Sources: NASA/JPL Solar System Dynamics, planetary satellites.