Pirx (crater)

Pirx is a 90 km (55.9 miles) wide impact crater on Pluto's natural satellite Charon, discovered in 2015 by the American New Horizons probe. It is located in at 55.2°N 256.18°E / 55.2; 256.18 (Pirx).[1] The crater is located near Charon's north pole.

Pirx (Charon)
Annotated map of Charon, with IAU-approved names for features as of 2018
moonCharon
Coordinates55.2°N 256.18°E / 55.2; 256.18[1]
Diameter90 km
DiscovererNew Horizons
EponymPirx the Pilot

Crater Pirx is named after the main character in a series of short stories by Stanislaw Lem, who travels between the Earth, Moon and Mars; this name was approved by the International Astronomical Union in 2018.[1]

See also

References

  1. "Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Pirx on Charon". planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
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