Charon tectonics

Icarus. 2017 May 1:287:161-174. doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2016.12.018. Epub 2016 Dec 16.

Abstract

New Horizons images of Pluto's companion Charon show a variety of terrains that display extensional tectonic features, with relief surprising for this relatively small world. These features suggest a global extensional areal strain of order 1% early in Charon's history. Such extension is consistent with the presence of an ancient global ocean, now frozen.

Keywords: Charon; Geological processes; Image processing; Pluto; Tectonics.