Pluto's Largest Moon Charon Revealed in True Color

It's been a decade since NASA's New Horizons spacecraft gifted us our first close-up views of Pluto and its immense moon, Charon. Even now, scientists continue to unveil the breathtaking wonders of these distant worlds.

To mark the anniversary of the historic July 14, 2015, flyby, mission scientists have released the most detailed color images of Pluto and Charon ever produced. These natural-color images are the result of meticulous calibration of data captured by New Horizons' color Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC). The processing aims to simulate the colors our eyes would perceive, bringing us closer than ever to 'true color' representations.

This remarkable image was captured on July 14, 2015, from an astonishing distance of 46,091 miles (74,176 kilometers). It's a single MVIC scan, unadulterated by data from other New Horizons instruments, showcasing the striking features of Charon with incredible clarity.

One of the most captivating features visible is the reddish northern polar region, aptly nicknamed "Mordor Macula." The intense craters on Charon's surface are also clearly defined, with one particularly striking crater on the right, suggesting an impact at a very shallow angle. The sheer scale of one ejected fragment is so immense it appears to have barely been absorbed by the moon.

The memory of seeing these first real pictures from Pluto and Charon still feels surreal, even a decade later. It's a testament to human ingenuity and our relentless drive to explore the unknown reaches of our solar system.