Kubrick Mons is the name given to the largest of a series of mountain peaks on Pluto's moon Charon that rise out of depressions in the ground in the Vulcan Planum plain.[2][3] The feature was first recorded by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) aboard the New Horizons spacecraft during a flyby on July 15, 2017.
 Kubrick Mons is a depression with a peak in the middle, shown here in the upper left corner of the inset. | |
| Coordinates | 3°36′N 30°48′E / 3.6°N 30.8°E[1] |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 20–25 kilometres (12–16 mi) |
| Peak | 3–4 km (1.9–2.5 mi) |
| Eponym | Stanley Kubrick |
Physical description
Kubrick Mons has a diameter between 20 and 25 kilometres (12 and 16 mi) and is 3–4 kilometres (1.9–2.5 mi) in height.[3] The feature is surrounded by a moat which has a depth of 1–2 kilometres (0.62–1.24 mi) below the surrounding area.[4] It is not currently known how Kubrick Mons formed; however, there is speculation that Kubrick Mons may be a cryovolcano and the depression may be the result of a shrinking chamber of water and ammonia.[3] As of November 2019[update] this hypothesis remains to be confirmed.
The mountain was named after the film director Stanley Kubrick, an apparent reference to the alien Monolith discovered in Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Official approval of the name was announced by the International Astronomical Union on 11 April 2018.[5] It is sometimes called Charon's Mountain in a Moat or more simply Moat Mountain.
References
- ^ "Kubrick Mons". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
- ^ "Pluto's Big Moon Charon Has a Bizarre Mountain in a Moat". Space.com. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ^ a b c Desch, S.J.; Neveu, M. "Differentiation and Cryovolcanism in the Pluto-Charon System" (PDF). USRA Houston. School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ Moore, J. M.; Spenser, J. R.; Mckinnon, W. B.; Beyer, R. A. (Apr 10, 2017). "The Geology of Charon as Revealed by New Horizons". International Asteroids, Comets, Meteors (ACM) Conference 2017. LUNAR AND PLANETARY SCIENCE AND EXPLORATION. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ "Pluto's Largest Moon, Charon, Gets Its First Official Feature Names". International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 21 February 2019.