Fw: Astronomy Picture of the Day (5/19/2025): Charon Flyover from New Horizons
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Astronomy Picture of the Day
Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2025 May 19
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Alt text: A flyover of Pluto's Moon Charon is shown
from the New Horizons spacecraft.
Charon Flyover from New Horizons
Video Credit:
,
,
,
P. Schenk & J. Blackwell
();
Music:
Explanation:
What if you could fly over
's moon Charon -- what might you see?
The New Horizons spacecraft did just this in 2015 July as it
and
with cameras blazing.
The images recorded allowed for a digital reconstruction of much of
's surface,
further enabling the creation of fictitious flights over Charon created from this data.
One such fanciful, minute-long, time-lapse video is
with vertical heights and colors of
surface features digitally enhanced.
Your journey begins over a wide chasm that divides different types of
s,
a chasm that might have formed when
froze through.
You soon turn
and fly over a colorful depression dubbed
that,
one hypothesis holds, is an
from an ancient impact.
continues over an
rich with never-before-seen craters, mountains, and
s.
The robotic has too much
to ever return to
and Charon and is now
of our
.
Portal Universe:
Tomorrow's picture: volcano sky
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Authors & editors:
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NASA Official: Amber Straughn
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A service of:
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