Charon is actually a moon of the dwarf planet Pluto. It was discovered in 1978 by astronomer James Christy and was officially named in 1985. Charon is the largest moon of Pluto, with a diameter of about 1,212 kilometers. It is so large in comparison to Pluto that the center of mass of the Pluto-Charon system is actually outside of Pluto itself, making them a binary system.

Charon's surface is covered in water ice and is believed to have a thin atmosphere composed mostly of nitrogen and methane. The moon is tidally locked to Pluto, meaning that one side always faces the dwarf planet. This has led to stark temperature differences on Charon, with one side constantly in darkness and the other in perpetual sunlight.

Charon's discovery played a key role in the reclassification of Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet in 2006. The discovery of Charon's size and mass helped scientists better understand the dynamics of the Pluto-Charon system and led to the realization that Pluto did not meet the criteria to be considered a full-fledged planet.

Since its discovery, Charon has been the subject of several space missions, including NASA's New Horizons mission, which flew by the Pluto system in 2015 and provided detailed images and data on Charon's surface and composition. This mission helped to further our understanding of the Pluto-Charon system and provided valuable insights into the geology and history of this distant world.

For more information on Charon and its orbit around Pluto, you can visit the NASA website at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/pluto-moons/charon/in-depth/ or the European Space Agency's website at https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Charon_Pluto_s_largest_moon.

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