tectonic faults tagged posts

Pluto’s ‘Hulk-like’ Moon Charon: A possible Ancient Ocean?

Pluto's Moon Charon

A close-up of the canyons on Charon, Pluto’s big moon, taken by New Horizons during its close approach to the Pluto system last July. Multiple views taken by New Horizons as it passed by Charon allow stereo measurements of topography, shown in the color-coded version of the image. The scale bar indicates relative elevation. Credits: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

Pluto’s largest moon may have gotten too big for its own skin. Images from NASA’s New Horizons mission suggest Pluto’s moon Charon once had a subsurface ocean that has long since frozen and expanded, pushing outward and causing the moon’s surface to stretch and fracture on a massive scale...

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