Charon , or (134340) Pluto I, is the largest of the five known natural satellites of the dwarf planet Pluto. It has a mean radius of 606 km (377 mi). Charon is the sixth-largest known trans-Neptunian object after Pluto, See more

Charon was first given the temporary designation S/1978 P 1, after its discovery, following the then recently instituted convention. On June 24, 1978, Christy first suggested the name … See more

Simulation work published in 2005 by Robin Canup suggested that Charon could have been formed by a collision around 4.5 See more

Since the first blurred images of the moon (1), images showing Pluto and Charon resolved into separate disks were taken for the first time by the See more

Charon was discovered by United States Naval Observatory astronomer James Christy, using the 1.55-meter (61 in) telescope at See more

Charon and Pluto orbit each other every 6.387 days. The two objects are gravitationally locked to one another, so each keeps the same face towards the other. This is a case of mutual tidal locking, as compared to that of the Earth and the Moon, … See more

The center of mass (barycenter) of the Pluto–Charon system lies outside either body. Because neither object truly orbits the other, and Charon has 12.2% of the mass of Pluto, it has been argued that Charon should be considered to be part of a See more