Thursday, May 27, 2010

Moon of the Day - Charon


Today's moon is Charon, the largest moon of the dwarf planet Pluto.

Charon is a little different from the other moons we've discussed so far, in that its classification is somewhat open to debate. That's because the center of mass, or barycenter, of Pluto and Charon actually lies in the space between the two bodies, which means that they essentially orbit each other (here's what an ordinary planet-moon system might look like -- the barycenter is inside the planet). So is it still a moon? Or a binary planet? Does it matter?

We'll get the first ever close-up images of the Plutonian system when the New Horizons spacecraft arrives in 2015. I can't wait.

14 comments:

  1. the New Horizons spacecraft looks nice & attractive. i do not have much knowledge about spacecrafts or space missions, but it is exciting to me. thank you for creating this blog from where people like me can slowly get to know some things in an easy and clear manner.

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  2. This really makes me dreaming of space tourism!

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  3. I vote binary planet

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  4. Semantics is not important but I also vote for a binary planet taking into account Charon's size in relation to Pluto.

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  5. I wish Pluto were still considered a planet...Since I would TOTALLY vote for it as my favorite!

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  6. Stunning picture! I'm a theoretical physicist myself, but every time I see something as beautiful as this, I want to change my course! :P

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  7. Well done on becoming blog of note the other day by the way :)

    If anyone is reading this, please could you spare some time to read my blog "Thoughts from Holmes", a witty and interesting look at the latest goings-on. I think you'll like it, and if you do, please become a follower because I haven't got many. The URL is:

    http://thoughtsfromholmes.blogspot.com/

    Thanks! :D

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  8. congrats on being blog of note! very impressive!

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  9. nice blog man!

    http://lifeisamustwithjanroz.blogspot.com/

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  10. An unveiled feeling! Feels great!

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  11. its a very good blog about astrological things, i am always very interested to read about such things such as settings of moons and stars and here you provide a very interesting read!!

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