Latest news with #Charon
The Hindu
a day ago
- Science
- The Hindu
Is it a moon? Is it a dwarf planet? Well, it's Charon, and it could well be both!
Charon's discovery The story of Charon's discovery takes us back to 1978 – a time when even astronomers were still thinking that Pluto was a planet. Little was known about Pluto and its system, but all that was about to change in the decades that followed. On the morning of June 22, American astronomer James Christy already had his head whirling around. If you were under the impression that he was zeroing in on the solution for an astronomical problem, you couldn't be further from the truth. Christy was sharpening his plans to move his house, getting ready for a week's leave from the U.S. Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona – his workplace. It was under these circumstances that Robert Harrington, his boss, handed him a set of six photographs of Pluto. Christy and Harrington were looking to refine Pluto's orbit around the sun – a journey that takes Pluto 248 Earth years. Pluto's average distance from the sun is 5.9 billion km. The technology available at that time meant that even the best photographs of it hardly revealed anything. What's more, these six images – acquired in pairs over three nights in the month between April 13 and May 12 – were labelled as 'defective.' Odd blobs The reason why these pictures were labelled thus owed to the fact that they revealed Pluto to be oddly elongated. Viewing them under a microscope, Christy noticed that the fuzzy blob that was to be Pluto stretched in a northern direction in two of those pairs, while the final pair showed a southward direction. The defects were attributed either to atmospheric distortion or improper optical alignment in the telescope used for observations. After ruling out an explosion on Pluto as an unlikely explanation – especially as it lasted a month – Christy searched for other plausible reasons. There was a chance that Pluto itself was irregular in shape. Or could there be an unseen moon, even though one of his former professors, celebrated Dutch-American astronomer Gerard Kuiper, had searched for exactly the same decades earlier without any success? When Christy went over to the archives to check through older plates from 1965 onwards, there it was... the same elongation. What's more, all these images had also been dismissed as defective on every occasion. Correct conclusions Christy and Harrington, however, realised that they were onto something. By reviewing all the images with the elongations, they were able to state that the bulge occurred with a predictable frequency. This frequency of the unseen moon's orbital period – 6.4 Earth days – matched with what astronomers believed to be Pluto's rotational period, suggesting a synchronously locked binary system. The duo ruled out other possible reasons for the bulge and concluded correctly that Pluto had another companion at a distance of 19,640 km. The discovery of 'S/1978 P1' was announced by them through the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on July 7 and their findings were published in the Astronomical Journal. What started out as reviewing six defective images, served as the seeds for a whole new discovery. As Christy himself once pointed out, 'Discovery is where the scientist touches nature in its least predictable aspect.' What's in a name? As the discoverer, Christy wanted to exercise his rights for naming Pluto's companion. And he had his mind set on naming it after his wife. The Naval Observatory he worked for had suggested the name Persephone, the wife of Hades. Hades, the god of the underworld in Greek mythology, was the equivalent of the Roman god Pluto after which it is named. As luck would have it, Christy came across a reference to Charon, a boatman who ferried the dead across a river in the underworld to Hades. Charon's close mythical association with Hades, or Pluto, made it a great option for the newly discovered astronomical object. It was the perfect option for Christy as his wife's name was Charlene. In addition to sharing the first four letters, 'Char' was the nickname that friends and family used to call his wife. Just like how protons and electrons have the 'on' suffix, Christy saw Charon as 'Char' with the suffix 'on' and submitted his name. Eclipses and occultations By the time this name was accepted by IAU in January 1986, Pluto and Charon had a series of mutual eclipses and occultations. Studying them enabled astronomers in general, and Harrington in particular, to confirm the existence of Charon as he observed the eclipses and occultations to occur as predicted. Observing Pluto and Charon in this manner also enabled astronomers to arrive at Charon's diameter to be about 1,200 km, while also arriving at better estimates of the size and mass of Pluto. From a small dot in a photograph, Charon had become much much more – almost a world in its own right. It definitely meant the world to Christy in more ways than one, as he was also able to gift his wife the moon! Charlene Christy probably summed it the best when she said 'A lot of husbands promise their wives the moon, but Jim actually delivered.' Charon fact sheet Most of what we know about Charon, or even Pluto for that matter, is thanks to NASA's New Horizons mission. Approved in 2001 as the first flyby of Pluto and its largest moon Charon, it was launched in January 2006. This was months before IAU's decision in August the same year to demote Pluto's designation from a planet to a dwarf planet. Despite the fact that Pluto was plutoed, the mission went on, providing us invaluable information. Before New Horizons' closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015, the spacecraft captured plenty of images of Charon. While the images revealed a striking reddish north (top) polar region, Charon's colour palette wasn't as diverse as Pluto's. The origins of this red colouration is a mystery for now and no other icy object in the solar system sports a similar feature. Charon is 1,214 km across and is at a distance of 19,640 km from Pluto. As Pluto's equatorial diameter is about 2,377 km, Charon is nearly half the size of Pluto. This makes it the largest known satellite relative to its parent body for most astronomers. It is this same size, however, that forces other astronomers to consider Pluto and Charon as a double dwarf planet system. Charon's orbit takes 6.4 Earth days to go around Pluto. Charon neither rises or sets, however, but instead hovers near the same region on Pluto's surface. The same surfaces of Charon and Pluto always face each other due to a phenomenon called mutual tidal locking.
NDTV
16-06-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Astronomers Discover "New Kind Of Climate" On Pluto
Pluto, long reclassified as a dwarf planet, continues to surprise scientists. Astronomers recently detected new features in its high-altitude haze - revealing more than previously known. Once thought to be a frozen, featureless world, Pluto was found to have icy plains and rugged mountains when NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past it in 2015. Now, researchers have studied a bluish and multi-layered haze around Pluto, which stretched more than 300 kilometres above the surface. The astronomers noted that the haze is not just a visual oddity, but something that controls the dwarf planet's climate. In the study titled, Evidence of haze control of Pluto's atmospheric heat balance from JWST/MIRI thermal light curves, astronomers revealed that they detected and measured the thermal emission of Pluto's haze. They said that the "observed fluxes indicate that Pluto's haze is composed of Titan-like organic particles as well as hydrocarbon and nitrile ices and demonstrate that the haze largely controls Pluto's atmospheric balance". Pluto's temperatures, climate and general circulation should therefore be substantially affected by the haze across seasons, the study said. "This is unique in the solar system. It's a new kind of climate, let's say," Tanguy Bertrand, who is an astronomer at the Paris Observatory in France, who led the analysis, told Live Science. The findings were published on June 2 in the journal Nature Astronomy. Mysteries of Pluto Pluto's reclassification as a dwarf planet in 2006 sparked debate. Pluto's surface composition, including nitrogen ice and tholins, is still not fully understood. Pluto has a thin atmosphere which freezes and thaws as it orbits the Sun. Pluto's five known moons, including Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos and Styx, pose questions about formation and evolution.
The Sun
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Takaful Malaysia appoints Charon Mokhzani as new group chairman
KUALA LUMPUR: Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd (Takaful Malaysia) has appointed Datuk Charon Wardini Mokhzani as group chairman, effective June 1, 2025. Charon succeeds Datuk Mohammed Hussein, who retired on May 31 after serving as group chairman since 2020, the takaful group said. 'The appointment of Charon as group chairman marks a significant milestone for Takaful Malaysia, enabling the Islamic financial institution to continue charting a course for sustainable growth and leadership in the insurance and takaful industry,' it said in a statement today. Charon has held senior leadership roles across the corporate, investment, and government-linked sectors, including as chairman of Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd (Exim Bank), founding chief executive officer (CEO) of Khazanah Research Institute, executive director of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, deputy CEO of CIMB Group, and CEO of CIMB Investment Bank Bhd. Takaful Malaysia director Mohd Azman Sulaiman said Charon's extensive experience across the financial services, public policy, and legal sectors brings a wealth of knowledge and insight that will be instrumental in guiding Takaful Malaysia's future direction. 'We are confident that his leadership will strengthen our commitment to excellence, innovation, and stakeholder value creation,' he said. In addition to his corporate achievements, Charon serves on the boards of Yayasan Tuanku Fauziah, Yayasan Tuanku Syed Putra Perlis, and the Kuala Lumpur Business Club, and was a member of the board of Universiti Putra Malaysia.
The Star
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Takaful Malaysia appoints Datuk Charon Mokhzani as group chairman
Datuk Charon Wardini Mokhzani appointed as the new group chairman of Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd, effective June 1. KUALA LUMPUR: Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Bhd has announced the appointment of Datuk Charon Wardini Mokhzani as the new group chairman, effective June 1. Charon succeeds Datuk Mohammed Hussein, who retired on May 31 after serving with dedication since 2020. The appointment of Charon marks a significant milestone for Takaful Malaysia, enabling the Islamic financial institution to continue charting a course for sustainable growth and leadership in the insurance and takaful industry. Takaful Malaysia Keluarga director Mohd Azman Sulaiman conveyed the Board's appreciation and welcomed Charon's appointment. He emphasised the Board's confidence in Charon's leadership and his ability to steer the group toward continued growth and excellence. 'We are honoured to welcome Charon as our group chairman. His extensive experience across the financial services, public policy and legal sectors brings a wealth of knowledge and insight that will be instrumental in guiding Takaful Malaysia's future direction. 'We are confident that his leadership will strengthen our commitment to excellence, innovation and stakeholder value creation,' said Mohd Azman. Charon is a seasoned leader with a distinguished track record in senior leadership roles across the corporate, investment and government-linked sectors. His career includes key positions as the chairman of Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd (EXIM Bank), founding chief executive officer of Khazanah Research Institute, executive director of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, deputy chief executive officer of CIMB Group and chief executive officer of CIMB Investment Bank Bhd, as well as the chairman of Principal Asset Management Bhd and managing partner of Zaid Ibrahim & Co. In addition to his corporate achievements, Charon serves on the boards of Yayasan Tuanku Fauziah, Yayasan Tuanku Syed Putra Perlis and the Kuala Lumpur Business Club and was a member of the Board of Universiti Putra Malaysia. Charon holds an impressive academic background, having read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Balliol College, University of Oxford and pursued law at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is a Chartered Banker, a Fellow of the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers, a non-practising barrister of the Middle Temple and an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya. Takaful Malaysia group chief executive officer Nor Azman Zainal said, 'His strategic leadership in navigating complex regulatory environments and shaping policy-related initiatives has been widely recognised across the Malaysian corporate landscape. 'We look forward to working closely with Charon as we embark on the next phase of our journey. 'His vision and leadership will be pivotal in driving the group's strategic initiatives, enhancing our competitiveness and strengthening our position as a leading Islamic financial institution in Malaysia and beyond.'
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
Woman, 65, dies from ‘inhumane attack' over purse at Tampa park: sheriff
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A young man has been charged with murder following the death of a woman who Hillsborough County deputies said he brutally beat over 'nothing more than a purse.' The alleged attack happened a day after Christmas, on Dec. 26, 2024, at the University Area Community Park, located on North 22nd Street in Tampa, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Wife of slain Tarpon Springs doctor ordered to pay nearly $200 million Deputies said they found the victim, Cerida Charon, 65, in the area around 7 a.m. that morning. According to authorities, she had suffered several severe injuries, including multiple broken bones and a brain bleed. Surveillance video showed the suspect, Antonio Gueits, 18, approach Charon at the park, the sheriff's office said. He then struck her in the face, which officials said caused her to collapse. In the video, Charon could be seen lying unconscious on the ground as Gueits repeatedly stomped on her head, investigators said. He then ran from the area after grabbing her purse. Gueits was taken into custody later that same day after detectives said they were able to positively identify him as a suspect. However, his charges have now been upgraded. Deputies said Charon remained hospitalized for months after the attack, but ultimately succumbed to her injuries on Sunday, March 16. An autopsy conducted by the Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that she died from complications from blunt force head trauma, and her manner of death was ruled a homicide, the sheriff's office said. As a result, Gueits was charged with first-degree murder on Monday, March 17. 'This was a completely senseless and inhumane attack over nothing more than a purse,' Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a release announcing the upgraded charges. 'This innocent woman was left unconscious, suffering, and fighting for her life for months because of this man's horrific actions. Now, with her tragic passing, we will make sure he is held fully accountable for this brutal crime.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
