Caleuche Chasma

Coordinates: 72°30′N 241°48′E / 72.5°N 241.8°E / 72.5; 241.8
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Caleuche Chasma
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Caleuche Chasma can be seen close to the top-left corner of this map
Feature typeChasma
LocationCharon's northern hemisphere
Coordinates72°30′N 241°48′E / 72.5°N 241.8°E / 72.5; 241.8[1]
Length400 km
Depth~13 km
DiscovererNew Horizons
EponymCaleuche, a Chilean legendary ghost ship

Caleuche Chasma is a Y-shaped chasma on Pluto's moon, Charon. Caleuche Chasma is 400 km (250 mi) long. The feature was discovered using stereoscopic processing of New Horizons images. At approximately 13 km (8.1 mi) deep, it is the deepest known feature on the natural satellite,[2] and one of the deepest known canyons in the Solar System.

Naming[edit]

Caleuche Chasma got its official name from the IAU along with eleven other surface features of Charon on 11 April 2018[3] in response to a proposal by NASA's New Horizons team. It is named for the mythical Chilean ghost ship Caleuche. The designation was a part of the Our Pluto initiative by New Horizons, which invited the general public to suggest and vote for names for surface features in the Pluto system. Caleuche was included in the voting on 21 March 2015.[4] It did not make to the initial proposal, sent to the IAU by the New Horizons team on 7 July 2015[5] but was included later.

Geology[edit]

Caleuche Chasma is the deepest known feature on Charon, with a maximum depth of approximately 13 kilometers—over 2% of Charon's mean radius of 606 kilometers.[2][6][7] Caleuche Chasma is roughly a Y-shaped depression, bordering Mordor Macula and located in the highly tectonized highlands of Oz Terra. Partially separating Caleuche Chasma from Mordor Macula is a large curvilinear ridge; this ridge appears to act as a barrier against the dark material found in the "core" regions of Mordor Macula, as the floor of Caleuche Chasma does not appear to be as dark.[2]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Caleuche Chasma". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ^ a b c Schenk, Paul Michael; Beyer, Ross A.; McKinnon, William B.; Moore, Jeffrey M.; Spencer, John R.; White, Oliver L.; Singer, Kelsi; Umurhan, Orkan M.; Nimmo, Francis; Lauer, Tod R.; Grundy, William M.; Robbins, Stuart; Stern, S. Alan; Weaver, Harold A.; Young, Leslie A.; Smith, K. Ennico; Olkin, Cathy (2018). "Breaking up is hard to do: Global cartography and topography of Pluto's mid-sized icy Moon Charon from New Horizons". Icarus. 315: 124–145. Bibcode:2018Icar..315..124S. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2018.06.010. ISSN 0019-1035. S2CID 125833113.
  3. ^ "International Astronomical Union". IAU. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  4. ^ "fictional-vessels - pluto". ourpluto.org. 23 April 2015. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Charon Theme 3 - pluto-update". ourpluto.org. 15 September 2017. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ Stern, S.A.; Grundy, W.; McKinnon, W.B.; Weaver, H.A.; Young, L.A. (15 December 2017). "The Pluto System After New Horizons". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 56: 357–392. arXiv:1712.05669. Bibcode:2018ARA&A..56..357S. doi:10.1146/annurev-astro-081817-051935. S2CID 119072504.
  7. ^ Stern, S.A.; Bagenal, F.; Ennico, K.; Gladstone, G.R.; Grundy, W.M.; McKinnon, W.B.; Moore, J.M.; Olkin, C.B.; Spencer, J.R. (16 October 2015). "The Pluto system: Initial results from its exploration by New Horizons". Science. 350 (6258): aad1815. arXiv:1510.07704. Bibcode:2015Sci...350.1815S. doi:10.1126/science.aad1815. PMID 26472913. S2CID 1220226.


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