Largest moon of Pluto
- Who
- Charon
- What
- 1,212 kilometre(s)
- Where
- Not Applicable
- When
- 07 July 1978
With a mean diameter of 1,212 km, Charon is the largest of Pluto’s five known moons. It was discovered by US astronomer James Christy, using the 1.55-m telescope at the United States Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. Its discovery was announced on 7 July 1978.
Christy had noticed an elongation or bulge in highly magnified photographic plates of Pluto, which turned out to be a large satellite orbiting Pluto.
On 14 July 2015, New Horizons came within 28,800 km of Charon.