Pluto's moon Charon may have once spun once every 14 hours, and its ancient mountains still record how it slowed down
A new study suggests that Pluto's moon, Charon, underwent a 'despinning' process early in its history, leaving behind tectonic evidence in the Oz Terra region. Researchers identified mountain ridges that indicate the moon once rotated much faster before becoming tidally locked.
Why it matters
Understanding the geological history of moons provides deeper insight into the formation and evolution of planetary systems.
For decades, Charon was often viewed as the quieter half of the Pluto system, a frozen world marked by craters, fractures and vast plains. Yet the surface photographed by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has continued to reveal hints that its history was far more dynamic than once thought.A new study published in Nature Communications, titled “Early tidal despinning history recorded in the tectonics of Oz Terra, Charon”, suggests some of the moon’s oldest landscapes may contain evidence of a process known as “despinning”, when a celestial body gradually slows its rotation over time.
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