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Vader (crater)

Coordinates: 55°N 15°W / 55°N 15°W / 55; -15
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Vader
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Photo of Charon centered on Ripley Crater. Nostromo Chasma crosses Ripley vertically. Organa Crater is at 9:00, and Vader is the dark crater at 12:00
Feature typeImpact crater
LocationCharon
Coordinates55°N 15°W / 55°N 15°W / 55; -15[1]
DiscovererNew Horizons
NamingUnofficial
EponymDarth Vader

Vader is the unofficial name given to a dark crater on Pluto's largest moon Charon. The floor of Vader is darker than the surrounding terrain, covered in the same reddish-brown dark material that covers Mordor Macula on Charon's north pole. Though Charon's surface trends darker with increasing latitude, some craters, such as Vader, interrupt this trend.[2] The crater was discovered by NASA's New Horizons space probe on its way by Pluto. It is named after the character Darth Vader from the Star Wars media franchise; the name has yet to be officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Global map of Charon". Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ^ Grundy, W. M.; Binzel, R. P.; Buratti, B. J.; et al. (March 2016). "Surface compositions across Pluto and Charon". Science. 351 (6279): aad9189. arXiv:1604.05368. Bibcode:2016Sci...351.9189G. doi:10.1126/science.aad9189. PMID 26989260. aad9189 (2016).
  3. ^ Wall, Mike (3 August 2015). "Vader Crater, Kirk & Spock! 'Star Wars,' 'Star Trek' Collide on Pluto Moon". Space.com.