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 Vulcan Planitia region.[2][3] The feature was first recorded by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) aboard the New Horizons spacecraft during a flyby on 15 July 2015.
Physical description
Kubrick Mons has a diameter of 40 kilometres (25 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 unconfirmed.
The mountain was named after film director Stanley Kubrick. 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.
^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.
