Charon

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Charon
Charon
Charon from PlutoandMoons.zip in Orbiter 2006P1
Designation
Name Charon
Reference body 134340 Pluto
Number of satellites
Planetary mean orbits
Epoch 2002.88980151
Semimajor axis (a) 19571421.7074156 m
Eccentricity (e) 0.0000373396813869476
Inclination (i)
(0 radian)
Longitude of the ascending node (LAN, ☊) 219.363153172047°
(3.82860928040886 radian)
Longitude of periapsis (ϖ) 136.954°
(2.39029822377631 radian)
Mean longitude (L) 34.9°
(0.60911990894602 radian)
Selected physical parameters
Mean radius 606316.642534735 m
Mass 1.51311205×1021 kg
Sidereal rotation period 551856.709233070848 sec (6.38723 hours)
SidRotOffset 3.14159265358979324
Obliquity 96.145° (1.67804680932995 radian)
LAN 43.046° (0.7512944298135 radian)
Note *Elements given are from Charon.cfg (PlutoandMoons.zip)

Charon is the largest natural satellite of Pluto. Its radius is about half that of Pluto, and their barycentre lies outside both objects. This is a common definition of a binary object, leading some astronomers to consider them a double dwarf planet.

Charon was discovered in 1978 by James W Christy.

From the discovery of Nix and Hydra, it was possible to estimate Charon's mass as roughly 10% that of Pluto. This implies it's approximately 45% ice, thought mostly to be water ice.

Charon in Orbiter

Charon was introduced to Orbiter with the release of pluto_pack.zip in July 2004.

Orbiter versions and add-ons which include Charon
Add-on Source Version Author Type Release Date Compatibility Wiki article
Celestial Bodies Motion - Part 2/4 - v2.0.0 O-F Resources v2.0.0 cristiapi Scenery 2 July 2015 *config and module only
Pluto and Moons O-F Resources 2010-05-13 Piper Scenery 13 May 2010
Orbital correction for Pluto and moons O-F Resources 2009-11-25 Unknown OHM Addon Developer Scenery 25 November 2009
Pluto O-F Resources 2006-11-13 Unknown OHM Addon Developer Scenery 13 November 2006
Pluto-Charon v2.0 O-F Resources 2005-05-09 Nighthawke Scenery 10 May 2005 Orbiter 2005
Pluto Pack AVSIM CharlotMan Scenery 17 July 2004

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