Geology Of Charon
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Geology Of Charon
The geology of Charon encompasses the characteristics of the surface, crust, and interior of Pluto's moon Charon (moon), Charon. Like the geology of Pluto, almost nothing was known of Charon's geology until the ''New Horizons'' of the Pluto system on 14 July 2015. Charon's diameter is —just over half that of Pluto. Charon is sufficiently massive to have Hydrostatic equilibrium, collapsed into a spheroid under its own gravity. History Mutual eclipses of Pluto and Charon in the 1980s allowed astronomers to take spectra of Pluto and then the combined spectrum of the pair. By subtracting Pluto's spectrum from the total, astronomers were able to Spectrometer, spectroscopically determine the surface composition of Charon. The northern regions of Charon are composed partially of hydrocarbons and tholins, whereas the lower latitudes are more diverse in composition. Researchers from NASA's Ames Research Center in 2017 confirmed that icy plate tectonism occurred in the past, giving rise ...
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Gemini Observatory
The Gemini Observatory is an astronomical observatory consisting of two 8.1-metre (26.6 ft) telescopes, Gemini North and Gemini South, which are located at two separate sites in Hawaii and Chile, respectively. The twin Gemini telescopes provide almost complete coverage of both the northern and southern skies. They are currently among the largest and most advanced optical/infrared telescopes available to astronomers. ''(See List of largest optical reflecting telescopes)''. The National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States, the National Research Council of Canada, CONICYT of Chile, MCTI of Brazil, and MCTIP of Argentina own and operate the Gemini Observatory. The NSF is currently (2017) the majority partner, contributing approximately 70% of the funding needed to operate and maintain both telescopes. The operations and maintenance of the observatory is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), through a cooperative agreement with NSF. ...
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Oz Terra
Oz Terra is the unofficial name given to a major geological region on Charon. The Pluto-facing hemisphere of Charon is divided onto two primary regions; Oz Terra in the north and Vulcan Planum in the south. These regions are separated by a series of scarps near Charon's equator, particularly Serenity Chasma and Mandjet Chasma. The region was discovered by ''New Horizons'' during its flyby of Pluto in July 2015. Geology Oz Terra sits about a kilometer higher than Vulcan Planum, and is typified by large crustal blocks, having fractured early in Charon's history. The region was formed about 4 billion years ago, when a subsurface ocean of water and ammonia flowed to the surface, and then solidified. See also * List of geological features on Charon The geological features of Charon (moon), Charon, the largest moon of Pluto, are being mapped by scientists using data from the ''New Horizons'' spacecraft. The team has given provisional names to the most prominent. , only some of the ...
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Atmosphere Of Pluto
The atmosphere of Pluto is the tenuous layer of gases surrounding Pluto. It consists mainly of nitrogen (N2), with minor amounts of methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO), all of which are vaporized from their ices on Pluto's surface. It contains layered haze, probably consisting of heavier compounds which form from these gases due to high-energy radiation. The atmosphere of Pluto is notable for its strong and not completely clear seasonal changes caused by peculiarities of the orbital and axial rotation of Pluto. The surface pressure of the atmosphere of Pluto, measured by ''New Horizons'' in 2015, is about (), roughly 1/100,000 of Earth's atmospheric pressure. The temperature on the surface is , but it quickly grows with altitude due to methane-generated greenhouse effect. Near the altitude it reaches , and then slowly decreases. Pluto is the only trans-Neptunian object with a known atmosphere. Its closest analog is the atmosphere of Triton, although in some aspects it rese ...
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Mordor Macula
Mordor Macula is the informal name for a large red area about in diameter near the north pole of Charon, Pluto's largest moon. It is named after the black land called Mordor in J.R.R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Origin The origin of Mordor Macula is not completely understood. It may be a deposit of frozen gases captured from Pluto's escaping atmosphere, a large impact basin, or both. A leading hypothesis is that nitrogen and methane escape from Pluto and are then deposited into the cold poles of Charon, where scattered ultraviolet light then transforms the molecules into tholins. This hypothesis implies that a similar red spot should exist on Charon's south pole as welland indirect evidence suggests this is true. See also * List of geological features on Charon The geological features of Charon, the largest moon of Pluto, are being mapped by scientists using data from the ''New Horizons'' spacecraft. The team has given provisional names to the most prominent. , o ...
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Argo Chasma
In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of sources beyond the original legend from books, films and more. Name Most accounts name the ship after her builder, Argus. Cicero suggested that it was named after the "Argives", a term commonly used by Homer for the Greek people of Argos. Diodorus Siculus reported that some thought the name was derived from an ancient Greek word for 'swift', which could have indicated that the ship was designed to move quickly. The adjective, occasionally found, is ''Argoan'' , from Greek ''Ἀργῶος'' through Latin ''Argōus''. Legend Construction of the ''Argo'' The ''Argo'' was constructed by the shipwright Argus, and its crew were specially protected by the goddess Hera. The best source for the myth is the ''Argonautica'' by Apollonius Rhodius ...
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Nostromo Chasma
Nostromo Chasma is the unofficial name for a rift valley on Pluto's moon Charon In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon (; grc, Χάρων) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of Hades, the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the wo .... It was named after the fictional spacecraft in the science-fiction/horror film '' Alien'', which in turn was named after the novel by Joseph Conrad. External links * https://web.archive.org/web/20160309101018/http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Multimedia/Science-Photos/pdfs/Charon-Map-Annotated.pdf References Extraterrestrial valleys Rifts and grabens Surface features of Charon {{astronomy-stub ...
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Tardis Chasma
The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior appearance mimics a police box, an obsolete type of telephone kiosk that was once commonly seen on streets in Britain. Paradoxically, its interior is shown as being much larger than its exterior, commonly described as being "bigger on the inside". Due to the significance of ''Doctor Who'' in popular British culture, the shape of the police box is now more strongly associated with the TARDIS than its real-world inspiration. The name and design of the TARDIS is a registered trademark of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), despite the fact that the design was originally created by the Metropolitan Police Service. Name TARDIS is an acronym of "Time And Relative Dimension(s) in Space". The word "Dimension" is alternatively rendered in t ...
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Macross Chasma
is a Japanese science fiction mecha anime media franchise/media mix, created by Studio Nue (most prominently mecha designer, writer and producer Shōji Kawamori) and Artland in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth and the human race after the year 1999, as well as the history of humanoid civilization in the Milky Way. It consists of four TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel, and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West Advertising, in addition to 40 video games set in the Macross universe, two crossover games, and a wide variety of physical merchandise. Within the series, the term ''Macross'' is used to denote the main capital ship. This theme began in the original ''Macross'', the SDF-1 ''Macross''. ''Overtechnology'' refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship ASS-1 (''Alien Star Ship - One'' later renamed ''Super Dimension Fortress - One Macross'') that crashed on ''South Ataria'' island. Humans were able to reve ...
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Serenity Chasma
Serenity Chasma is the unofficial name given to a large pull-apart fault on Pluto's moon, Charon. It is part of a series of faults that run along the perimeter of Vulcan Planum. It was discovered by the ''New Horizons'' mission, and informally named after the fictitious spaceship, ''Serenity''. Geology Serenity Chasma is long, and about deep, and its typical width is . The northern wall continues for an additional as a scarp after exiting the chasma. The chasma is part of a global tectonic belt; a series of canyons, scarps, and troughs that traverse the face of Charon. This series of faults is the longest known in the solar system. Serenity Chasma formed as the result of a subsurface ocean on Charon, which expanded as it froze. This expansion pushed the Oz Terra region higher and produced the fault belt across Charon's equatorial region. Landslides have been observed within Serenity Chasma. This is the only known occurrence of landslides in the Kuiper Belt. The lower ...
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Graben
In geology, a graben () is a depressed block of the crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German, meaning 'ditch' or 'trench'. The word was first used in the geologic context by Eduard Suess in 1883. The plural form is either ''graben'' or ''grabens''. Formation A graben is a valley with a distinct escarpment on each side caused by the displacement of a block of land downward. Graben often occur side by side with horsts. Horst and graben structures indicate tensional forces and crustal stretching. Graben are produced from parallel normal faults, where the displacement of the hanging wall is downward, while that of the footwall is upward. The faults typically dip toward the center of the graben from both sides. Horsts are parallel blocks that remain between graben; the bounding faults of a horst typically dip away from the center line of the horst. Single or multiple graben can produce a rift valley. Ha ...
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