Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Charon

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for July 17, 2015 is “Charon,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: NASA , Johns Hopkins Univ./APL , Southwest Research Inst.. The original explanation runs about 125 words.

Charon
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , Johns Hopkins Univ./APL , Southwest Research Inst. Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Icy world Charon is 1,200 kilometers across. That makes Pluto’s largest moon only about 1/10th the size of planet Earth but a whopping 1/2 the diameter of Pluto itself .”

— APOD editors, July 17, 2015

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
July 17, 2015
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , Johns Hopkins Univ./APL , Southwest Research Inst.
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 125 words

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On this day: July 17 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.