About Charon
Charon is Pluto’s largest moon — half the diameter of Pluto and about 12% of its mass. The Pluto-Charon system is the only known true binary planetary system where the barycenter lies outside the primary’s surface. Charon’s surface, imaged in detail by New Horizons in 2015, displays a dark reddish north-polar cap (Mordor Macula) likely produced by methane ice migrating from Pluto and reacting under UV radiation to form tholins. A vast equatorial canyon system, Argo Chasma, may be longer than the Grand Canyon.
Physical Properties
Orbit
Gallery
Hand-picked mission imagery of Charon sourced from NASA and partner archives. Click any photo for full resolution and source attribution.
Imagery on this page is provided by the original mission teams. Full attribution terms: Image Rights & Credits.
Sources & Further Reading
- NASA — official mission / factsheet page
- Wikipedia — extensive cross-referenced article
- NASA u2014 Charon
Numerical values (radius, mass, orbital elements, temperatures) are drawn from NASA NSSDC Planetary Fact Sheets, JPL Horizons, and the JPL Small-Body Database. Last refreshed: 2026-06-08 01:37:02.