Haron Biography

He is the son of the god of darkness Ereba and the goddess of the night of Nyukta. He has a unique job - to transport the souls of dead people who have passed the rite of burial through the rivers Styx and Aheron. And he did it completely heavenly. Especially for Haron, a coin was laid in his mouth to the deceased. It was believed that if this is not done, Haron will not cross the soul where necessary, and it will be doomed to wander always along the shores of the gloomy river ...

A very beautiful and bewitching legend. Already to the pimples of goosebumps. Haron's surface. NASA photo. But today we will no longer about the ancient Greeks. And we'll talk about one of the satellites of Pluto. His name is Haron. And he got the name like you probably guess, my friends, for a reason. And for the reason that the conditions where he “lives” is quite suitable for the description by the ancient Greeks of the “kingdom of the dead”.

So, Haron. This is the largest of the five famous satellites of Pluto. Haron is only 18 km from the surface of Pluto, which is more than 20 times closer than the moon is removed from the ground. Due to the proximity of bodies to each other, and the fact that Haron is a very large body, the general center of gravity of Pluto and Haron, known as the Baricenter, is in the space between the two worlds.

For this reason, many astronomers Pluto are considered not as just a dwarf planet, but as a double asteroid system. In the last century, a very interesting phenomenon happened: the Earth crossed the orbital plane of Haron in such a way that from the point of view of earthlings, Haron and Pluto alternately passed before each other. Interestingly, the measurements of the Albedo surface of Haron show that the satellite is mainly covered with water ice.

And Pluto is a layer of frozen nitrogen. The nature of the emergence of Haron causes serious disputes. The most common hypothesis suggests that the satellite appeared as a result of a clash of Pluto with some large cosmic body. However, there is another point of view. Her supporters are inclined to the fact that Pluto and Haron were formed independently of each other.

And subsequently, Pluto captured his largest satellite with his own gravity. The likely presence on the surface of the satellite of the water ice, as well as the expected possibility that the Haron is subjected to a significant heating as a result of the action of Pluto's gravity, led some researchers to the idea that an underflowing liquid water ocean can exist on the satellite, which may contain a microbial life.

In this hypothesis, of course, there is something. And most of all is the fact that some 30 years ago that there was a lot of water in the solar system, there was not even a question! The satellite was observed from close range with the new horizons probe when he flew past him at a distance of 27 km in July. AMS "New Horizons" found several shock craters on Haron, which indicates that the satellite has a young surface, geologically active and, therefore, probably has a complex internal structure.

In the southern hemisphere of Haron, there are fewer craters than in the northern, but at the same time it is less “even”, which suggests that such surface features indicate the presence is possible! This freezing event occurred at some point in the past of the satellite, after which its surface “smoothed out”, and for this reason many of the earlier craters disappeared.

Just imagine where far, far from the sun, on the very edge of the abyss, where the sun looks only as the brightest star, whose light flies here for more than five hours, two frozen worlds are silent around the common center of gravity, the temperature of which is only slightly higher than the absolute zero ... So, where is my mug with mulled wine? Good! Pluto and Haron.

Family photo.