Charon, Pluto’s Companion: What We’re Learning from New Horizons

Pluto’s large moon Charon turned out to be far more interesting than astronomers expected.  Pluto was the star of the New Horizons show, but the features on Charon’s surface tell a fascinating tale of how icy worlds could form far from the gravitational influences of the giant planets.  There is evidence of a world-wide sub-surface ocean early on, and of global expansion as that ocean froze solid.  Charon’s surface also has a region of plains where icy materials may once have flowed and smoothed over the fractures present elsewhere on its surface.  Dr. Beyer will be your guide through this story of formation and change in the frozen reaches of the outer Solar System.

Speaker: Dr. Ross Beyer,  SETI Institute