Vader (crater)
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. 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).
See also
References
- ^ "Global map of Charon". Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ 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).
- ^ Wall, Mike (3 August 2015). "Vader Crater, Kirk & Spock! 'Star Wars,' 'Star Trek' Collide on Pluto Moon". Space.com.