Charon Vulcan Planitia (IMAGE)

Southwest Research Institute

Charon Vulcan Planitia

Caption

An SwRI-led team studied the craters and geology on Pluto and Charon and found there were fewer small craters than expected. This implies that the Kuiper Belt contains relatively small numbers of objects less than 1 mile in diameter. Imaged by New Horizon's LORRI camera, the smooth, geologically stable 'Vulcan Planitia' on Charon illustrates these findings.

Credit

NASA/JHUAPL/LORRI/SwRI

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